Cosmic Warrior
by FutureShock
Summary: Trunks returns to his timeline to finish off the androids once and for all, but what happens when he meets a strange star creature who needs a way to return to it's mother? Follow Trunks on his adventure through space in order to retrieve the lost Power Stars and the stolen Grand Stars, running into a few 'problems' along the way.
1. The Nightmare Ends

Hello and welcome to my newest fanfiction. This one will star Future Trunks, and takes place during the episode Free the Future. It crosses over with the Super Mario Galaxy, I feel that is the best game to work with. Although it won't be quite the same as in the game, you'll find out what I mean a little later. So sit back and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter One: The Nightmare Ends

Trunks had returned from the past, having successfully helped the Z fighters against the android threat. During his time in the past he had not only learned more about the others, but more about himself. He had also become a lot stronger due to training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with his father. His power level was far greater than when he had first come to the past. After the defeat of Cell and helping save that world, he was ready to save his own world from the androids. At long last the horrible nightmare would soon be over.

His time machine made its descent onto the ground near the Capsule Corp. building, which looked like it had seen better days. Trunks stepped out of the machine. "It's a little worn down, but it's still home." He ran towards the entrance and saw his mother downstairs reading a book, all the while he thanked Dende that she was still alive. "Hey, what are you reading there?"

Bulma perked her head up and noticed her son standing there. A huge smile came onto her face as she noticed her son had finally returned home.

"Hi mom, I'm back."

"Yes I see." Bulma had a big smile on her face as her son walked down the stairs towards her. The first thing she noticed was how much he had changed. Her son was different than when he had left. "Wow you've grown, and you even look older too."

"Yeah, I spent some time in a room where one year had gone by in a day and dad was there with me, it was pretty neat."

She smirked. "That sounds like your father, spending a years worth of time with you in one day." She couldn't help but snicker at that thought. "I made some tea, why don't we have a cup and you can tell me about your trip?"

"Sure." He said as he followed his mother to the table.

The two sat down at the table and his mother poured their respective cups of tea. As she did that he he began telling her everything, from the day he arrived to when he had left. He included all details, no matter how gruesome they might have been. It was quite a long and somewhat tragic story. "And that's pretty much it."

It was a lot for Bulma to take in, she hadn't expected any of that to happen. Things just went so differently in that timeline than in her own. "So Goku still died... but I could see him not wanting to get wished back."

Trunks took another sip of his tea before turning towards his mother. "Guess what mom, dad defended me in a battle."

"Trunks you've got to be kidding me." It was hard for her to believe. Vegeta didn't seem like the kind of person to do something like that.

"I didn't see it but Yamcha told me about it... Cell was very strong and I was having a bad day to say the least, and when dad saw me die he went berserk. He charged Cell and attacked him head on without any chance of winning. Yamcha said it was the best shot anyone got in on Cell all day. Pretty cool huh?" Trunks explained as he turned over to his mother. "Uh... mom?"

She couldn't respond right way. Bulma had just heard that her son had died during his trip. Of course, she figured they would wish him back... but that still wasn't something she wanted to hear. After a few moments she was able to respond. "Huh... oh that's wonderful honey."

"Yeah." The Saiyan thought fondly. While in the past Trunks tried his best to impress his father, but nothing seemed to work. No matter how hard he tried Vegeta didn't think much of his son, but knowing that his father did what he did made Trunks happy. He was finally accepted by his father.

Bulma was also surprised by that. _'I can't believe it, Vegeta that arrogant man did something noble.'_ They both had smiles on their faces.

Just then the radio came on, and they both had a feeling it would be bad. "Red alert, the androids are now attacking Parsley City. You are all advised to clear the area."

Hearing that made Trunks clench his fists in rage, and his good mood went south. He was fed up with those two! All of the hurt and suffering they caused, all of the innocent lives they killed. Well no more, it was time to finish them once and for all! "Alright it's their turn!" He threw his jacket off and prepared to leave.

"Trunks please be careful." Bulma said with worry in her voice.

"Don't worry mom I'll be fine, I've been with Goku remember." He told her before powering up into a Super Saiyan. "Nightmares never last, sometimes you wake up and they're gone. Things are different now... I can see the light."

"I believe in you son, go show them what you're made of!" She cheered.

The Super Saiyan turned back towards her and nodded. He then flew out of the building and headed for Parsley City.

* * *

The androids had once again killed every human in the city they were attacking, and all of the buildings had been destroyed. It was normal behavior by now. Right now 18 was firing several energy blasts at a single building, she was venting her frustration. Her brother had once again destroyed something she liked, which also seemed like normal behavior.

"18 calm down, you'll blow a gasket if you keep this up."

"You shut up, I'm still not talking to you!" She shouted.

"Why, because I blew up that clothing store, or because I killed that guy you thought was cute?" He didn't know what the problem was, they always killed people and destroyed buildings. And now he was the bad guy?

"Why is it that everything I like you destroy?!"

Among the ruins of Parsley City was one survivor, a very old man. He was trapped underneath a car. "That was my son you killed!" He managed to grab his revolver and shoot at the male killer, unfortunately it merely bounced off harmlessly. He then panicked as the android made his way over to him, and that big grin didn't help anything. "Stay away from me you murderer!" The old man shouted while firing several bullets at the android, all of which bounced off harmlessly.

17 stopped in front of the old man and pulled out his gun. A smirk came onto his face. "If you want to play cowboy, then I guess it's time for me to return fire." His smirk turned into a smile upon seeing the face of the old man. "Aw come on, don't you want to play anymore?"

"Please don't shoot me." He pleaded as the android put the gun to his head.

"Hey, sorry gramps you shot first." Before he could pull the trigger an energy wave came flying by, 17 jumped back to his sister as someone landed on the ground. "Hey it's you." They both recognized the teen but didn't know his name. All they knew was that he was a weakling. and a major thorn in their side.

"Yeah it's me, the name's Trunks. Look it's over, it stops here!"

The two androids just started laughing. "Trunks don't you remember what happened last time, nothing stops here except you."

"How rude, what an arrogant brat! 17 let's kill him!" The female shouted.

"You know we would be blowing weeks worth of fun right?" He whispered to his sister.

She narrowed her eyes. "I don't care I need this, I've been in a bad mood all day." The two androids nodded before charging Trunks.

They were giving it all they had but every attack they threw missed. Their enemy was dodging the blows being thrown with no difficulty. This continued for a few moments before they were sent flying backwards by an explosive wave of energy. The two stood up a few moments later feeling annoyed. How did they lose that battle? Normally they would be too much for him. "Come on 18 let's try again."

Once again they charged at the Super Saiyan but to their surprise he had vanished. "Where did he go?!" The female android asked as they looked around for him. She then caught sight of their target. "Behind you."

17 turned around as Trunks appeared out of nowhere. He had little time to react as the Saiyan punched him in the face, the impact sent him flying into a nearby building.

18 flew towards her foe and threw a punch but he was able to catch it. She stood there helplessly as he raised his leg, she then found herself being kicked in the face. The female android went flying into the same building as her brother. Android 18 crashed into the building and the last bit of it was destroyed. The two then stood up and were even angrier than before. "I hate you!" She shouted.

"You hate the fact that you're powerless to stop me, that you're completely outmatched. Well imagine feeling the way you do now all of the time like the people of this planet do. Fools, how do you think Gohan felt when you ganged up on him and he had no way out?!" He narrowed his eyes. "Now it's your turn, I hope you enjoy it!"

"Come on 18, let's get him!"

Both androids flew at high speeds towards their foe, ready to teach that arrogant brat a lesson. 17 tired to land a punch but the half-Saiyan moved out of the way. The male android then threw a kick but it missed. His sister wasn't having much luck either. After a few moments of frustration they fired energy blasts at him, but he vanished before they could hit him. They looked up and saw him floating above the two of them. 17 grit his teeth. "Why you?" He flew up and started throwing punches as fast as he could, but they were all being dodged by their opponent.

Eventually Trunks grabbed one of his foe's fists and used his other hand to chop off his arm. "Consider that payment for what you did to Gohan." The half-Saiyan smirked as he watched his enemy float there in shock. Trunks then kicked the android right to the ground. He held out his palm and fired an energy blast. It struck the android and exploded on contact, killing him once and for all.

The smoke cleared and there was nothing left, her brother was gone. Sure, he could be a real pain in the ass, but she still cared about him. The anger inside 18 was rising as she looked over towards Blondie, who had just landed on the ground next to her. "You... killed my brother! You're going to pay for that!"

"You can't stop me android, and I'm going to end you once and for all!" He flew at 18 and gave her an uppercut. His enemy went flying into the air as Trunks disappeared and reappeared behind her. He brought both fists down onto her back, sending her crashing into the ground. Right as she was getting back up the Super Saiyan moved right in front of her. Once in front of her he held out his palm. "THIS IS FOR GOHAN!" He unleashed a huge wave of energy and it swallowed her whole, finishing her just like her brother.

Trunks stood there for a moment before powering down out of Super Saiyan. He took a moment to breath, and to let the emotional weight of this moment sink in. 17 and 18; the two killer androids who terrorized the Earth for years were finally dead. With them gone the Earth would be a much more peaceful place. While lost in thought he noticed the man he had saved out of the corner of his eyes. He flew down to him and helped him out of the ruined car. The Saiyan then helped him to his feet shortly after.

"My... son..."

"It's going to be alright sir, I lost someone who was like a father to me I know how you feel." He noticed the man wasn't too injured, but decided to get him to a hospital just in case. "Here hold on to me."

The man did as he was told and soon after the man who saved him jumped into the air.

As he was flying Trunks made his way to the closest, non destroyed city. Along the way the Saiyan knew that things weren't over yet. The androids had been beaten, but if he knew his history there was still one more threat lurking out there. _'I know you're out there Cell, and I will find you!'_

After a short flight he had reached a suitable hospital, and he was quickly able to get some help for the man. With the stranger helped Trunks began his journey home. Once again it was a short flight, and he reached Capsule Corporation after only a few minutes. The Saiyan landed right outside the dilapidated building. A few moments later his mother came running out of the ruined house. "Hi mom."

"So... what happened?" She asked, having a feeling she knew what the answer was.

Trunks smiled brightly. "I beat them. They're both dead." He said happily.

Bulma couldn't believe it, there was just no way. "Y-you did?" She asked, receiving a nod in response. Her eyes then lit up, the nightmare was finally over! "Oh Trunks!" She ran over and gave her son the biggest one she could. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the two embraced. "I'm so proud of you!"

He didn't respond at first, instead he just chose to let the moment speak for itself.

"Your father would be proud too." She told him with pride.

 _'Yeah.'_ His smile grew bigger as he reminisced about his father.

* * *

Several weeks had passed since that day and the earth was starting to rebuild. Trunks had been spending most of his time helping rebuild the world, as well as helping those who had suffered during the android's reign. The work had been slow at times, but it was getting done. And with someone like the Saiyan lending a hand the work load wasn't that bad. There was still a lot to do, but the citizens of Earth had been making progress.

Now Trunks was going to go back in time and tell the others he had beaten the androids, just to let them know that everything was alright. He was once again dawning his blue Saiyan armor, which he wore whenever he trained. Not only was it great to work out in, but it also helped him feel close to his father. He was fortunate that his mother had made so many, and luckily only a few adjustments had to be made in order for them to fit him.

Close by, Cell was waiting behind a nearby building formulating his plan. It was simple, kill Trunks and take his time machine. The poor fool would never see it coming. A smirk came onto his face as the blue haired woman ran inside of Capsule Corp. Now his victim was all alone, and soon enough he would have the time machine.

Despite not being able to see behind him he could sense a certain someone, someone all too familiar. "I know you're back there Cell, there's no point in sneaking around."

That made the android gasp, how could he have been found out so easily?

"I also know that you're looking for the androids, but I'm afraid you won't be able to find them." He said as he turned towards the bio-mechanical android.

Cell gasped once more. "What, how did you know all of that?"

"I read your palm big guy, you've got a short life line."

The bio-mechanical android walked out of hiding and went over to the arrogant fool. "I don't like your jokes. I prefer a different kind of humor than you Earthlings."

"I know how you get your sick kicks, but I'm going to stop you right here and now."

"I see, you went back to the past and learned about me."

A smirk came onto the Saiyan's face. "There wasn't much to learn, you need to absorb a few androids. Well the androids are gone, I've beaten them already." Trunks explained which made Cell gasp a third time.

"What?! There's no way, my data shows that you should be no match for the androids! Wait you must be bluffing." It was the only thing that made sense. There was just no other explanation. "Yes, it makes perfect sense."

"Sorry but the androids are gone, and now I'm going to finish you."

The bio-mechanical android started laughing. "You're nothing compared to me! So why don't you just step aside and let me take the time machine?"

"You're not going anywhere Cell, but if you can beat me you can go to the past... but guess what, I'm not going to let you!" Trunks held out his open palms and with a powerful shout he sent Cell flying through the air and out of the city. He chased after the monster and then the two landed in the grassy area.

"You shouldn't be throwing your life away like this, just let me go back to the past, no one will know."

"There is someone watching, and laughing, a friend of mine that you killed in the past. He's someone I could never let down!"

"Don't worry you'll be joining him shortly, I'm going to absorb you and take your energy. It will be a nice treat before I go back in time." Cell said with a grin.

"Enough you freak!" Trunks powered up into a Super Saiyan. "You're too confident Cell."

The android started laughing. "There's no reason not to be, I've come across many like you."

Trunks clenched his fists. "Yes you have, but count me as the last."

He stood there as Cell charged him, hoping to land a few blows. Trunks was able to block them and send the evil android flying with a kick. That was followed up by another kick to his jaw. As his enemy was flying Trunks appeared behind him and brought both of his fists down on him.

Cell stopped himself from crashing into the ground and shot an energy blast at his foe. They were easily knocked away by his foe, who then dashed towards him. Cell did the same and the two warriors clashed. The android threw a punch but it missed, he looked around for the punk but didn't find him. A few seconds later he was kicked square in the back, and then elbowed the back of his head. He went crashing into the ground and then immediately got back up, sporting a look of anger on his face. He was feeling pretty injured and was breathing heavily. "This can't be, how is he more powerful?!"

The half-Saiyan descended onto the ground as his opponent grit his teeth. "This is your fault Cell, you shouldn't have killed those people!"

"That's it! I'm going to absorb you!" His tail stretched outward as he prepared to stab the warrior, but his tail was grabbed. Things became worse as his foe started swinging. Soon enough the bio-mechanical android was taken for a ride, and he quickly became very dizzy! After several swings Cell was launched into the air. He flailed helplessly as he continued ascending upwards into the sky. That continued before he stopped himself, He then realized he had been made a fool of and unleashed his aura. "Enough of this, you're gone and here's your present! KA-ME-HA-ME!"

Meanwhile Trunks was standing underneath him preparing to fire an attack of his own. Right as his opponent was about to fire the Kamehameha Trunks yelled out to him. "The nightmare is over Cell, die!" He then unleashed his Heat Dome Attack, a move which he had recently created. A huge wave of golden energy burst from his palms and traveled upwards towards his enemy. His attack swallowed the android whole and quickly started killing him. After a few moments there was nothing left of Cell.

It was finally over!

The Super Saiyan stayed there for a few seconds before powering down. He then smiled brightly, which was something he never thought he would be able to do in his bleak future. "It's finished thanks to you father, and you Gohan, and especially you Goku."

Now the Saiyan was ready to head back home, but before he could something caught his eye. High in the sky was what appeared to be some sort of comet, and it was hurtling towards the Earth. "What is that?" The supposed comet was getting closer and closer to the Earth, and it was doing so at an alarming rate. Trunks eyes went wide as he realized it was heading straight for him, so he jumped out of the way.

Whatever it was crashed into the ground with a loud boom, making the ground around him rumble violently. A huge cloud of dust and dirt appeared over the newly formed crater.

Once everything had settled he walked over to the crater. On closer inspection it wasn't a comet that hit, instead it some sort of mushroom shaped ship. The Saiyan stared blankly at it for a few moments as a star like creature came out of the ship, except it didn't really look like a regular star. The star was plump and peach colored, and it had two black ovals on the front of its body. Trunks looked at it curiously, wondering what exactly this thing was.

A few seconds later it flew up to the stranger. "Please you have to help me find mama."

 _'It can talk?!'_ Several questions came to his mind, but helping this... 'thing' was his first priority. He could sense that this star creature wasn't evil. "Where is your mother?"

"Up there." The star pointed up into space.

 _'How am I supposed to get into space?'_ He thought to himself while suppressing a sigh. After a few seconds of thought an idea came into his head. "Follow me, I think I might know of a way to get you home."

A white aura engulfed his body as he flew back towards the city. He glanced back just to make sure that the star was following him, which it was, albeit at a much slower pace. The half-Saiyan decreased his speed as to not lose the creature. He still had questions but those could wait until after this star creature had a way home.

The duo were flying at good pace, and they would reach Capsule Corp. in no time. Along the way Trunks was thinking about a way to get the star home, but he wasn't exactly sure how to do it. It was then that he remembered her mother talking about the time she, Gohan, and Krillin had gone to Namek. If she still had that spaceship then he could help this star get home. He just hoped that she still had the vessel.

* * *

Bulma had inside reading some more of her book. At first when her son told her to get inside the house she assumed it was because he found himself a girlfriend. Where he could have found the time to do so while helping rebuild the Earth she didn't know, but she figured he met her at one of the restoration sites. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, and the way her son acted supported that. After getting inside she took a peak outside one of the windows, and she was horrified to learn that Cell was out there. Of course, her fear didn't stay as she knew her son was more than capable of defeating him. So, she simply stayed put and waited for him to return.

After a while she began to worry slightly, and in the back of her mind she wondered if her son had somehow been defeated. Those fears left just as quickly as they came when she heard the sounds of her son flying and landing. She then ran outside to greet her son. "You're back!"

"Yeah, I beat Cell and now both the past and the future are safe." He explained.

She smiled brightly in response. "So are you going back in time now?" She asked, not seeing the strange creature that was floating behind her son.

"Not yet, first I need your help with something." The Saiyan stepped aside to let his mother see the strange creature.

"Please I need help, I need to find my mama."

Bulma just blinked twice, having not expected her son to bring home such a strange creature. "Who's... your... friend?"

"It came from space in some sort of ship. This thing crashed right next to where Cell and I were fighting, apparently it's mother lives in space."

"I... see, so what's your name little guy?" At first it seemed weird, and a bit creepy... but the more Bulma stared at it, the cuter it looked.

"I'm Luma." His voice was also pretty cute, it was almost like a child's voice.

 _'Maybe it's a baby star... I'll have to do some research.'_ The female scientist thought to herself before giggling. "Don't worry Luma, I've got a spaceship that you can use to get home." She smiled upon seeing Luma bouncing up and down excitedly. "Trunks can I speak to you over here for a moment?"

Trunks nodded as he followed his mother into an alleyway. "What is it?"

"Look you're going to have to go with Luma into space, I don't think he can fly a spaceship by himself."

"Yeah I kind of figured, but how am I supposed to find where he lives? His home could be anywhere."

"I'm sure Luma will know... wait, didn't you say he came in a ship?" She received a nod. "Maybe the ship he came in will be able to give you the coordinates to his home."

The Saiyan nearly slapped his forehead for not coming up with that great idea. "Oh of course, why didn't I think of that?"

"Alright you go and bring Luma's ship here, and I'll go get my ship ready for you two."

He nodded before heading back over to where Luma had crash landed. Luckily that area hadn't been too far away, and at the rate he was traveling he made it there in no time. Trunks landed in the crater and walked over to the ship, it wasn't too big which made it easier to carry. With both hands he held the ship over his head, he then blasted off like a rocket towards Capsule Corp.

A few moments later he arrived back home and put the ship down on the ground next to Luma. He sensed his mother was inside, meaning she still hadn't found the ship yet. So now he just needed to wait for his mother to return. This was a good opportunity to ask Luma a question. "So... where exactly is your mother?"

"She's traveling on a comet."

Hearing that made the half-Saiyan gasp, how was he supposed to track down a single comet? Since space was such a vast place, he could be searching for the rest of his life and still not find her. And at that point he'd probably just run out of food and water. This was going to be harder than he thought. Even if they have the coordinates it could still be a _very_ long journey.

Minutes later Bulma came back outside with a capsule in her hand, she clicked the button at the top and threw it at the ground. With a boom the tiny container exploded and now there was a big ship in the front yard. "Here you go, this is the same ship Vegeta used to go into space while searching for Goku. It has a gravity chamber in case you want to train. It's stocked with enough food to last you while, and I made sure to pack some extra clothes for you. I also gave you some capsules if you need them. Plus a spacesuit just in case."

Luma smiled brightly in response.

Trunks stood there in shock for a few moments before shaking it off. "Well. I guess we better check his ship for any sort of coordinates."

She nodded in agreement but before doing that an idea popped into her head. "This mission could be dangerous, you might want to go visit Korin and get some senzu beans."

"Right." His body was engulfed by a white flame as he took off for Korin's tower.

Right after he left Bulma walked over to the broken ship, it seemed a little primitive for a space ship. Upon closer inspection the ship had no set destination. It appeared to have been sent out randomly into space. Luckily there was a group of numbers, which could only be the coordinates of the launch point. "I think I've got it!" She yelled happily. The scientist ran inside and grabbed a pencil and pad of paper, she returned to the ship and wrote them down. Now all she needed to do was wait for her son to return.

The two waited around for what seemed like half an hour before noticing Trunks flying towards them. A couple seconds later he landed on the ground next to his mother. "Alright Korin gave me five senzu beans, that should be more than enough for the trip." He showed her the brown bag of senzu beans. "So were you able to get the coordinates?"

"Yep here it is, the location of his home." She handed him the notepad.

As he took it his face changed to one of worry. "The only problem is that Luma said his mom lives on a comet. It could take me forever to find it."

Her response was a small laugh. "Don't worry son, this ship is the fastest we've got. The ship Gohan, Krillin and I used took months to get to Namek, but this baby made the trip in a week."

A sigh of relief escaped Trunks' mouth. At least the trip wouldn't be as long as he thought. "Great, so I guess we'd better get going." He opened the door to the ship and Luma flew inside.

"Come back soon Trunks." She kissed him on the cheek.

He wiped his cheek before making his way onto the ship. "Don't worry, I won't be gone long." The door closed as Trunks looked the inside of the ship over, it seemed bigger on the inside. _'So this is my new home for a while.'_ The half-Saiyan thought to himself. He wanted to see everything the ship had to offer but first he needed to get this thing launched. Trunks made his way to the controls. He looked at the piece of paper and then pushed a few buttons. A few seconds later the ship started to float into the air. "Hang on tight Luma." Within seconds it blasted off into orbit.

* * *

There was the first chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. So it looks like Trunks is helping the little Luma find his mother. Will he be able to do it or is the quest hopeless? You'll have to read and find out for yourself. I know that most of this isn't anything new, and that's why I changed some of the dialogue and fight scenes. Be sure to R and R!

FutureShock


	2. The Celestial Duo

Chapter Two: The Celestial Duo

Somewhere deep in space on a small planet, a girl was standing on a stone structure. It had been a little more than a week since she sent out one of her Lumas. She was in desperate need of help and the only way she could find it was sending a Luma out into space. Her hope was that it would return with some help and her problem would be fixed.

Her observatory had run out of power, having been stolen by a crazed dragon like creature(it was a strange creature that she couldn't really describe). Without it she couldn't make the observatory move, and it also left it a shadowed place. And because it was trapped in shadow she and her Lumas couldn't survive there for long. She needed to get the power back, but she was unable to do so herself. The Lumas were also unable to do much. It seemed as though she was powerless to do anything

For now all she could do was stay here and wait for help to arrive, if it ever did come. There was always the chance that something went wrong. The Luma's ship could have been destroyed, or maybe it crashed on an uninhabited planet... or maybe it landed on a hostile planet that killed the Luma on sight. Although she didn't really want to picture that.

 _'Please come back safely my little Luma.'_ She looked up towards the deep advance of space with a look of hope in her eyes.

* * *

The Capsule Corp. ship was blasting through the void of space, passing by several different stars, asteroids, and even a few planets. Trunks was sitting at the controls while his companion was floating near one of the windows. The ship had calculated how long the journey would take, it was estimated at about a month. _'Well it could have been worse.'_

He looked over at the Luma who just seemed to be staring out the window, as if he was searching for his mother. The Saiyan felt bad for the little creature, he knew first hand how hard it was to be separated from a parent or loved one. Luckily for Luma Trunks was going to do whatever it took to get him home safely. "Hey the ship says it will take at most two months to get to you back home."

Luma turned towards him, with his big eyes just staring at the nice man. He stared at him for a few moments before responding. "Okay." Was all he said.

The more the half-Saiyan looked at him made him realize that Luma was rather cute. Although it was a little creepy when he realized he had a mouth, and that those two black ovals were eyes. At first Luma just seemed like a fallen star... with two giant eyes. He then shook his head lightly to clear away those bizarre thoughts. "So, uh... why don't I show you around? I could use a tour of this place myself."

"Yeah that sounds good."

A small smile came onto the Saiyan's face as he stood up and the Luma moved toward him. The two then went over to where the ladder was to take them downstairs, although neither really needed a ladder. Trunks and Luma floated down and the first thing they noticed was the fridge, well, that was the first thing the Saiyan noticed anyway. Upon looking around he also saw the bedroom and the bathroom. He could only assume that his extra clothes were inside the bedroom.

His stomach then grumbled so he went over to the fridge. He opened the door and his jaw nearly dropped. The fridge was overflowing with food, almost to the point where all the contents could spill out onto the floor. "Well at least we won't starve." Trunks joked as a thought came to his mind. He had no idea what, if anything, Luma ate. "Hey Luma what kind of food do you eat."

"I just need Star Bits to survive." He answered.

That answer left the half-Saiyan puzzled, and a little relieved that he didn't have to ration his food supply. Of course he would probably have to ration the food anyway, as a Saiyan he would have no problem eating all of that food in no time. A second thought then entered his head, he had never heard of Star Bits before. "What's a Star Bit?"

The star creature giggled slightly. "Star Bits can be found all over space."

This made the half-Saiyan think. Perhaps he could temporarily stop the ship and go out and collect some Star Bits for the Luma. His mother did give him a space suit after all, plus it wouldn't be right to have his companion starve. "Well how about I go out and collect some for you?"

Luma smiled brightly in response.

"Just give me a moment." He walked over to the bedroom and opened the door, he then headed for the closet and looked inside. There was indeed a space suit, multiple pairs of his regular clothes, and the rest were spares of his blue Saiyan armor. _'I didn't know mom made so many of these.'_ He brushed those thoughts aside and grabbed the space suit. After several minutes he had successfully put on the space suit, and now he was ready to go.

The two flew back up to the main part of the ship, Trunks pushed a few buttons and the ship slowed to a stop. Once the ship had safely stopped the duo made their way over to the entrance/exit. The Saiyan opened the door and flew out into the void of space, with Luma not far behind him. What Trunks saw amazed him. Surrounding him and Luma were lots of different colored pieces, almost like candy. They must have been the Star Bits. "Wow, I had no idea that there were so many of these." He observed while still having an amazed look on his face. "Guess I better start collecting these things."

Grabbing several bits at a time Trunks threw them into the ship, it would have been better if he had a jar or something but alas he didn't. This continued for several minutes as he didn't really want to keep stopping to collect more. Better to only have to make one stop than several. It might have been overkill but he didn't see the harm of taking a lot, especially since these things were everywhere. After what seemed like a long time of collecting Trunks turned and looked at the mountain he had made. "Well I think that's enough for now."

"Thank you for getting those." Luma smiled which in turn made his companion smile.

"Of course, I wasn't going to let you starve to death before getting you home." Both of them then went back inside and the Saiyan closed the door. He took off the suit and then put the ship back on auto pilot. Now he just needed to find a place to put all of these Star Bits. The most logical place was the fridge, but he didn't think they would all fit inside... especially since it was already full of food.

Then his stomach rumbled loudly, and it seemed to have echoed throughout the ship. It sounded like a monster was somewhere inside. In fact it was so loud that his companion had to hide behind him. He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Don't worry, that was just my stomach, so I guess it's lunch time. How about it Luma, are you hungry?"

A few seconds passed and there was nothing, so Luma emerged from his hiding place. "Yeah I'm starved."

"Alright well I guess you can just dive right in, I need to go downstairs to the fridge." Right after he said that the Luma began eating the Star Bits one by one. Curious, Trunks decided to try one and to his surprise it didn't taste bad, it was almost like honey. He also thanked Dende that those Bits weren't poisonous or caused him to choke. And he was sure that if his mother were there she would have scolded him for such a stupid decision.

Trunks went downstairs and opened the fridge, he then grabbed the food he wanted and started chowing down. In no time at all he devoured his meal, and he just now realized how hungry he was. It felt like he ate his own weight in food, and he had barely put a dent in the amount of food he had. Luckily some space was available in the fridge and the half-Saiyan put as many Star Bits as he could in the fridge. The rest would just have to be on the ground.

Eating all of that food made Trunks a little sleepy, so he decided it was best to get some sleep. Before doing so he went back up to the main floor of the ship. "Hey Luma I'm going to sleep, are you going to be alright for a while?"

A smile came onto his companion's face. "Yes, I'll be fine, I don't need to sleep."

Trunks probably shouldn't have been surprised by that, but it was still a little weird. He just nodded before going into the room and going to sleep.

* * *

It had been a few days since their journey had begun, and during all of this time Trunks hadn't really asked the star creature any questions. And believe him he had some questions he wanted to ask. The only reason why he didn't was because he wasn't sure if it was a touchy subject, and in case it was the half-Saiyan didn't want to be responsible for any mishaps. So he decided to wait a little bit to ask, just to see if Luma brought it up at all. Thus far the star creature hadn't talked about anything, he rarely spoke at all. And every time he did speak it was about his mother.

Curiosity got the better of Trunks and he decided to ask Luma about his life. He stepped away from the controls and walked over to the floating star. "So Luma," He spoke, making his companion turn towards him. "I was just wondering how many Lumas are out there, or are you the only one?"

"No, there are hundreds of Lumas out there." He explained.

Hearing left the Saiyan shocked, he didn't expect there to be so may of them. "Wow, and you all live at the same place?"

"Yep we all live with our mama."

"It must be a hassle to take care of so many of you." Trunks mused aloud.

"Not for our mama, she can take care of all of us no problem."

"Hey Luma, you keep talking about helping your mother."

"Yep." The star creature answered.

"Well is she in danger or something?"

Luma frowned for the first time. "Mama was sad when I left. She told me to find someone to help her."

Trunks furrowed his brow, it seemed Luma's mother did need some help. He couldn't tell if she was in danger but that didn't really matter. "Don't worry Luma, once we land I'll help your mother in any way I can." He smiled lightly upon seeing his companion smile and dance around wildly in the air. _'He has a lot of energy.'_

* * *

There was now something Trunks wanted to test out, it was the gravity chamber. Bulma said it could go up to five hundred times Earth's gravity. That would really help out with his training. Although he would start out small at first. He decided today would be a good day to start training, but first he needed to both tell and warn Luma.

"Hey Luma, I'm going to do some training, you might want to head downstairs for a bit. It can get pretty intense and the amount of gravity in this room is going to increase."

"Okay." The star said as he made his way down to the bottom level of the ship.

"I'll come get you when I'm done." With the his companion gone Trunks walked over to the gravity machine, looking around for the right button. Eventually he found what he was looking for. "Ah here it is, now lets see how high should set this?"

He thought back to being in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but he wasn't exactly sure how high the gravity was in there. In that room the gravity got more intense the farther in you were. After minutes of thinking he decided to start out with twenty. Trunks set the gravity and then he suddenly felt a the force being applied onto him. It wasn't enough to send him crashing into the ground but the half-Saiyan could feel it pushing down on him. It was as if he was holding a couple of heavy weights.

 _'Alright lets get started.'_ He began by doing some light exercises, just trying to set up a training regiment. It would be considered a standard work out to someone like Hercule Satan, but he was just getting started. The exercises did do their job in waking up his muscles, which apparently he needed because they were pretty stiff. He had barely broken a sweat.

After doing several hundred push-ups, sit-ups etc. the Saiyan was ready to get serious. He closed his eyes, trying to envision an opponent to fight. Eventually his eyes opened and he saw Vegeta standing there. His father would be an excellent opponent, seeing as how Vegeta would most likely push him to his limit had he actually been here with him. Now he was ready to begin.

With great speeds Trunks took off and began his sparing match with his imaginary father. Punches and kicks were thrown at rapid speeds. In his mind Vegeta was avoiding every hit, but actually he was just hitting the air. Trunks swept his leg but once again he failed to hit his envisioned enemy.

 _"You're so pathetic Trunks, you can't even keep up with your own father."_ His father's voice rang through his head which served to motivate him to try harder.

Before he continued his training Trunks transformed into a Super Saiyan. He remembered back to when Goku and Gohan exited the time chamber, the two of them mastered the Super Saiyan form by staying like that for as long as they could. To make it as normal as breathing essentially. That was now one of his goals during this trip, to fully master his Super Saiyan form... and maybe his ascended form as well.

As a Super Saiyan his training was much faster than before, and this was only the start. The gravity chamber could go much higher than this, and that would only further his training. For now though he would stick with twenty. Better to start small and gradually work his way up to the much higher gravity modifiers.

Punches and kicks were being thrown left and right as he cranked up the intensity. His speed was quite impressive as demonstrated by his training. It wasn't just offensive training he was doing, defense was just as important as offense. That's why he would mix it up and put up his guard every once and a while, it was also helpful when envisioning an opponent. He mixed in some different techniques as well, trying to improve his fighting skills.

For the next couple of hours Trunks had been training hard, trying to push himself past his limits. Despite having a limited space to work with he actually got a good work out. By the end he was sweating and breathing heavily. "Okay that's enough for today." He walked over to the gravity chamber and set it back to normal.

The sudden change back to normal felt surprisingly great, he was feeling just a little bit lighter. No doubt that feeling would be greater once he trained at higher gravity. Then he smelled something bad... it was himself. "Guess I could use a shower." He joked to no one as he made his way downstairs. "Hey Luma I'm done training, so you can go back up there if you want."

Luma just kept floating there, it was starting to creep Trunks out a bit. "You look tired." He observed.

"Yeah, that tends to happen after training hard." There was a bit of an awkward silence as his companion kept staring at him. "Uh... well, I'm going to take a shower."

Trunks took off his clothes and headed for the bathroom. Along the way he couldn't help but wonder if Lumas were always this quiet. He rarely spoke, and when he did nothing much was said. The half-Saiyan couldn't tell if this was better than him over talking or worse... he decided better. Being soft spoken rather than a loud mouth seemed like a better quality. Especially if one had to share a spaceship with someone who was loud.

The shower felt refreshing and it seemed to also relax his muscles, a nice hot shower after a hard training session was always relaxing. After that he went over to his room and decided to get some rest, thinking he could put on a new Saiyan suit in the morning. "Goodnight Luma!" Trunks shouted to the other room.

"Goodnight." Luma replied.

* * *

Two weeks had gone by and Trunks was currently doing some training, under the effects of one hundred and fifty times earth's gravity... leaving the bag of senzu beans on the chair near the main controls. His Super Saiyan mastery training was also coming along nicely. He found it easier to maintain his Super Saiyan form, but there was still more to do. "Four hundred ninety eight... four hundred ninety nine... five hundred!" Having just completed his five hundredth one finger push-up he was ready to do some fighting.

Upon searching the ship Trunks found a bunch of training orbs. Bulma said that Vegeta would fire off energy blasts and the orbs would reflect them onto other orbs, it was a way to sharpen reaction time and to be aware of his surroundings. All of the orbs were set up and ready to go. A ball of energy formed in his hands as he launched it full force at one of the training orbs. The energy sphere made contact and then ricocheted into another floating orb.

The energy ball kept on bouncing around the room at high speeds. Trunks was putting all of his energy into not only staying in the air, but also sensing where the sphere was traveling. It was coming from behind so the Saiyan moved out of the way. It came back towards him but once again he moved out of the way, and this process continued. For almost half an hour Trunks was avoiding the blast being sent around the room, but the effects of the gravity and being a Super Saiyan was starting to takes its toll on him.

Breathing heavily, Trunks decided he needed to stop for now, but first he needed to stop the energy ball. Before he could react he fell to the ground and powered down out of Super Saiyan. The energy sphere came rushing towards him, in order to stop it he put his hands out hoping that would be enough. The attack collided with his hands as Trunks struggled to hold it. Unfortunately his arms gave out and the sphere hit him head on, creating a loud explosion in the process.

Luma, who had been downstairs, heard the loud boom. Curious he went up to investigate. "Are you alright?" As soon as Luma entered the room he felt the effects of the high gravity, and it pushed him down to the ground almost instantly.

Trunks grunted as he did his best to lift up his head, although it was hard to do so. He looked over and noticed Luma laying on the ground. _'I've got to shut off this gravity before it kills us!'_ Slowly Trunks made his way over to the gravity machine, although it was not an easy task.

All of his muscles ached as the half-Saiyan crawled towards the machine. His body wanted to give out and just stop entirely, but his mind was screaming at him to keep going. He was the son of Vegeta and a Super Saiyan, there was no way he would give up now. After crawling for several minutes he finally reached the machine and set the gravity back to normal. With the gravity back to normal Luma was able to once again fly. "L-luma..." He was relieved that his companion was able to come over to him. "I... n-need a se-senzu bean."

"In this bag?" Luma held up the small brown bag with his stubby arm.

"Yeah... now g-grab one of the b-beans and put it in my... mouth."

The star creature reached into the bag and pulled out one of the beans, he then placed it in his companion's mouth.

After eating the senzu bean Trunks felt all of his strength return to him, his muscles bulked up as he jumped to his feet. "Whew that was a close one, thanks Luma."

"No problem."

"I think that's enough training for today." He took a look at his clothes and noticed that they were in tatters. "I'm going to shower and then after that we can grab a bite to eat." He received a smile as he flew downstairs.

* * *

About a month had gone by since their departure into space, and it seemed that they were getting closer to Luma's home. During this time Trunks had been pushing himself to his limits, training between two hundred and three hundred times earths gravity. For most of the time he was a Super Saiyan, and each day he got better at controlling the form. He even did some training on mastering his Ascended Super Saiyan form.

He had recently finished one of his training sessions and cleaned himself off in the shower. Now dawning his normal clothes he was now chowing down on some food. Trunks had eaten a good amount of the food, but luckily there was a lot of it in the fridge. So he would have a good amount left for the trip home. He also had the option of eating the Star Bits, which he would save for when he was all out of food.

As he and Luma were eating a noise could be heard from upstairs. The duo headed up and saw that they were nearing their destination. A smile came onto both of their faces. "Well Luma, it looks like you're finally home."

No words came out of the star's mouth, instead he made strange noises, which could only be described as happy sounds.

Trunks headed back downstairs and put the space suit on, he then went back to the main part of the ship. As the ship slowed to a stop Trunks looked out the window to see exactly where they were heading, and it appeared to be a small planet. _'Why did the ship take us here, I thought Luma lived in an observatory?'_

"I'm coming mama!" Luma yelled.

Trunks headed for the controls. A few questions came to his mind, but if the star creature's mother lived here than he would take him here. The Saiyan turned off the auto pilot and brought the ship down for a landing.

* * *

That was the second chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. Not much happened except Trunks doing some training and learning a little more about Luma. I realize that I had time go by a little quickly, but only because this part of the story isn't as important as the rest will be. This also means that in the next chapter we will meet a certain someone. I would also like to apologize for the lack of updates lately, I've been busy with work and family stuff. Be sure to R and R!

FutureShock


	3. Princess of the Stars

Chapter Three: Princess of the Stars

The ship landed on a small planet, one that was both grassy and barren at the same time. Small craters were present on the surface as well. Upon landing the door to the ship opened up. By the time Trunks had his suit on his companion was already rushing off the ship. With a small chuckle he jumped down onto the surface, he then caught sight of his surroundings. The view was breath taking. In the distance he could make out several other small planets/asteroids, not to mention the billions of stars in the sky. _'So if this is Luma's home than where is his mother?'_ Just then a giant castle looking structure sprouted from the ground. Trunks looked at it curiously as Luma flew upwards to the top.

He shrugged before capsuling his ship and placing it into his pocket. He then made his way over to the structure, proceeding to walk along the blue pathway, which led to the top of the structure. At the top was a beautiful blonde haired girl, with her hair covering one of her bright blue eyes. She was wearing a dress that looked on the border between light blue and light teal. On top of her head was a small silver crown with red and blue gems embedded in it. She was holding a wand in her left hand, which had a had a hollow yellow star on the end of it. All the while she was being illuminated by a whitish blueish light, similar to his aura although not as intense. She was also very tall, about as tall as he was. He stared at her for a few moments, taking in all of her beauty.

"I've been watching you from here. This place is called the gateway to the starry sky... My name is Rosalina. I watch over and protect the cosmos." She explained, snapping him out of his thoughts. Her voice was pretty angelic, which didn't surprise the Saiyan at all.

Trunks then blinked twice, he remembered Goku telling him about King Kai and how he watched over the north quadrant of space. So what was the deal with this girl? He decided it was probably better not to question it, all that really mattered was that Luma was home with his mother. "I'm Trunks, nice to meet you." He greeted.

"To get back home, you'll need the power to travel through space." Rosalina said.

The half-Saiyan just looked at her confused. "But I already have a ship that can travel through space." He stated.

Rosalina swung her wand and the Luma who had just been brought home appeared. "Luma can give you this power. I will entrust you with his care."

"You don't understand I..."

He never got to finish his sentence as Luma spun around and eventually flew into him, making him feel a new power surge through his body. Although Trunks could already fly he couldn't fly through space, at least not on his own anyway. Part of him was unsure if he could actually fly around through the deep void, but it was worth trying at some point.

"Disaster has struck us. With Luma I hope you can rescue the Grand Stars. May the stars shine down on you." Rosalina said as she began to float up into the void of space.

"No wait stop!" It was too late and she eventually disappeared, leaving the Saiyan standing there confused. He had done what he was supposed to do, so why did Rosalina leave? From the way the star creature spoke it sounded like his mother wanted him to return home. Plus he had never heard of a Grand Star before, but maybe once he found it he could leave Luma with his mother.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed a yellow Luma floating in front of him so he walked up to it. The Luma told him he could spin to break things, such as the crystal that was also in front of him. The Saiyan however didn't need to spin at all. He walked up to it and punched it, making the crystal shatter on impact. Once the crystal had been destroyed some sort of open star had been revealed.

"This is a Launch Star. Spin when you're near one to shoot through space like a comet! Now, go and explore the universe, There are lots of galaxies for you to discover!" The Luma explained.

Trunks jumped into the star. To his surprise it held him in place, and with one spin he shot out of it. He screamed with both excitement and fear as he flew through space, and thanks to Luma's power he could survive just fine. The view was breathtaking, and he stared at his surroundings with both wide eyes and an open mouth. As the half-Saiyan was soaring through space he had a feeling that this was going to be a crazy adventure... but it was something that he was now getting used to.

The Launch Star had taken him to a similar looking planet, except this one was full of holes. There was a Luma on this new planet so Trunks figured he would know what to do.

"Collect five star chips to create Launch Stars!" The Luma explained.

He noticed what looked like points of a star, so he ran around the island and collected the five star chips. It didn't take him too long and as he collected the final one a launch star appeared. Trunks walked over to it and used that to travel through space again.

The next planet was even smaller and made entirely of metal. Also present were several small mushroom like creatures, sporting angry expressions. Sensing their energies revealed that they were enemies, but their power levels were very low, so they were not really a threat. He also noticed a Luma trapped inside some kind of dome, but it wasn't made of glass. Instead it was made of some kind of energy.

"Get me out of here! One of those enemies should have the key!"

Trunks nodded and began to walk around the planet. He figured he should save his energy since he wasn't at his full power, plus since those things were weak he could easily defeat them with little effort. He watched as one of the creatures tried to attack him but, and by attack he meant tried to bite him. So he punched it and it disappeared, but it didn't have the key. He repeated this process with the other enemies until he finally got the key, and upon touching the key both it and the energy shield around the Luma had disappeared. He would have been more confused about what just happened but once again he shrugged it off, by now he was used to weird stuff like this happening.

He went over to the Luma who was very happy to be free. "Thanks! Would you mind rescuing my buddy in that base up there too? I'll transform into a sling star. Just jump into me after I... TRANSFORM!" Right on cue the Luma transformed into a sling star, which was a smaller version of a launch star.

Trunks jumped into it and it took him to a similar planet as the last, but it was slightly bigger than the one he was just on. He saw yet another Luma in a cage and figured there was yet another key. There were also more of the same enemies on this planet... and also a very big one. He beat the little guys with ease but none of them had the key, so the half-Saiyan made his way over to the large one. "Woah, you're certainly bigger than the others." Even though it was bigger this guy was just as strong as his buddies, and it had the same tactics too. He easily moved out of the way when it tried to bite him. He punched it and much like the others it disappeared, and it left behind another key. Upon his touch it freed the Luma. Trunks ran over to the Luma, who was floating above a green pipe.

"Hurry! Down here!" The Luma said as it vanished, and his rescuer followed his lead and jumped into the pipe. The pipe took them to the inside of the planet, and then after exiting the pipe it disappeared. "We've been waiting for you! That's a Grand Star! We have to save it! They're using the Grand Star to power that awful machine! It looks like it's making...something. We have to do something before the Grand Star's power is drained! Quick! Find a way to stop that terrible machine!" Luma explained.

"Right." Trunks stated as he began walking around, and as he was walking he noticed several moving blocks with electricity on the ends. He figured he should avoid those, but he also noticed several glowing squares. The Saiyan stepped on one of them and it turned from yellow to blue, so he guessed that once all of the squares were pressed it would free the star. It only took him a minute to step on all of the switches, and once he did they all turned green and the star was free. "Alright!" He shouted as he went over and picked it up. "Wow this thing has some weight to it." After a few moments both he and the star had disappeared.

They soon found themselves flying towards a dark looking structure. It seemed like some sort of space station to Trunks. As soon as he landed the Grand Star spun around and flew towards a floating red orb, but upon the star touching it the orb grew and also became redish orange. It also lit up some of the space station. It appeared to be the core of the station, and the Saiyan guessed that the Grand Stars made it not only bigger but glow brighter as well. He looked around and saw how beautiful the place looked when it was lit, and then he turned towards the orb again just now noticing someone was standing there.

Rosalina was standing in front of it with a black Luma floating by her side. "The beacon is lit again! It shines weakly, maybe only as bright as a Class 6 star, but at least now the poor Lumas will survive now. Oh, thank you for saving the Grand Star. These star people are my family... They mean so much to me." She explained sadly.

"No problem, but what exactly is this place?" Trunks asked.

Rosalina turned around and smiled warmly. "Welcome to the Comet Observatory. It's my home, and also home to the Lumas. You see, we travel the starry skies. We pass by this area once every hundred years, but we suddenly stopped in front of this planet. A strange force had latched on to our ship, pulling away star bits and our power source, Power Stars. Our ship had lost power, so it entered a deep hibernation state in which it could not move."

"So someone stole your power stars?" This whole situation had been pretty confusing thus far, so he was hoping that the blonde haired girl would clear everything up.

She nodded. "The Power Stars were taken by evil ones, and they discovered the power to cross the universe. Please, I have a request... This observatory uses Star Power to project images of the galaxies that are scattered across space. And... there is a chance we could use our few remaining stars to look for other Power Stars. These round rooms are called domes." She swung her wand and motioned at the respective domes. "We observe galaxies from domes such as these. But the only one that is working right now, powered by the Power Star you restored, is this one... the Terrace." She pointed to the Terrace. "Please go to the Terrace and try to recover the Power Stars from the galaxies you can see from there."

The black Luma then spoke up. "If we do that, we'll be able to restore the Comet Observatory's ability to fly like a star ship. Then perhaps we can pursue the thieves who ran off with the Power Stars." He explained.

Trunks stood in silence for a few moments, contemplating her request. While he did want to help out Rosalina and the Lumas he also didn't want to leave his home unprotected, he was the only real warrior the earth has left. Then again, he already defeated both the androids and Cell, so there weren't any immediate threats on the horizon. Plus for someone like him this probably wouldn't take too long. With his decision made he nodded. "Alright I'll go find those missing Power Stars and bring them back here."

"Thank you Trunks." Rosalina smiled as the man turned around. "Wait before you go I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

She pointed at his helmet. "With the Luma's power you won't need that suit on." The princess explained.

He quickly became nervous, feeling unsure of her claim. He didn't want to doubt her. but he also wanted to live. _'Well... here goes nothing.'_ Slowly the helmet was pulled off of the Saiyan's head, and once removed Trunks shut his eyes tight. After a few moments and nothing happened Trunks reopened his eyes, to his relief he was still alive. Knowing that it was safe he took off the rest of his space suit and folded it up. He was now back to wearing his normal clothes, because again he wanted to save the Saiyan suits for training purposes. He would have pulled out his ship and put the suit away but he would do that later, the observatory didn't look like it had much room for a big spaceship.

Trunks picked up his suit and started heading towards the terrace, walking along the grassy part of the observatory. Once he entered the building he was left awestruck. It looked much bigger on the inside than the outside. The walls were covered with art of a starry night sky, and there was also a castle. A telescope and both a black and a blue Luma were inside as well.

"Welcome! This dome acts as an eye of the observatory. From here we can gaze upon distant galaxies. Once this Luma transforms into a Pull Star, he will guide you to those faraway galaxies."

Just as the black Luma said the blue one transformed into a Pull Star. Trunks flew up into and was once again amazed, he was now staring off into outer space. From his position he could see what looked like planets in the distance, there were also numbers on them for some reason. Moments later he could hear the black Luma again.

"These are the galaxies that can be observed from this dome." They looked more like planets to Trunks. "The numbers represent their distance from the observatory. The bigger the number, the greater the distance. The more Power Stars you have the farther you will be able to travel." With that the Luma was finished speaking.

"It looks like there's only one place I can go to now."

* * *

Deep in another part of space, the debris of several ships were drifting through the endless void. Also there was another much larger vessel, that had overpowered the smaller ships that attacked it. What were once mechanical pirate ships had come across the silver ship during their travel, and they attacked it without warning. Despite firing several cannon balls at it the large vessel was unharmed. The leader of the invasion; a dragon turtle by the name of Bowser, had been both terrified and confused by that.

Those feelings would only grow when a metallic being exited the large ship and single-handedly obliterated the pirate ships. Bowser's armies had crumpled and even he himself was no match for the warrior who challenged him. Not even the giant saucer he called in was able to do anything. The only things that were left in tact were Bowser himself, and the giant star that he had been on one of his ships. Everything else had either been destroyed during the initial onslaught, or from the metallic warrior afterwards.

Now standing near the core of his ship, the metallic being waited for his guards to return from interrogating the prisoner. Luckily he didn't have to wait long and eventually two robotic guards entered the room.

"Sire, we have interrogated the prisoner."

"Report." The being spoke. His voice sounding as metallic as his body looked.

"His name is Bowser, he claims to be a Koopa. Unfortunately there is nothing in our records about his species, but he shouldn't be much of a threat against us." The minion stated.

"Bring him to me." He ordered as his two minions left the room. Again he didn't have to wait long, and after only a few moments his minions returned with the Koopa.

The Koopa didn't look happy being dragged in by said guards, but at the same time he was nervous. Standing before him was the same creature that wiped out his armies and destroyed his fleets, even his son was killed during the massacre. Just looking at him was terrifying, and all he could see was his back!

"Leave us."

The guards bowed before leaving.

With them gone he turned around and faced the Koopa, flashing him a sadistic smile. Oh how he loved dealing with insects. "Do you know who I am?"

Bowser hesitated. "No..." He answered.

"I am the terror of the universe, a being with no equal in strength or power... except for one worthless insect!" He spat, clenching his fists in rage. "But never the less I have reclaimed my status. And I am no longer the mere mortal I was before, I have become a machine capable of taking down anyone who opposes me." He noticed his prisoner gulp, making him smile in delight. "Do I frighten you?"

He didn't want to answer, but he feared if he didn't than it would lead to some sort of harm. "Truthfully... yes."

The machine chuckled. "Well then answer me this, why have I chosen to keep you alive?" He saw the Koopa go pale. "No answer. It's simple, I left you alive because of the mysterious item found on your ship."

"A Grand Star." Bowser spoke, instantly covering his mouth afterwords.

"Interesting... tell me more about this, Grand Star."

The look on his metallic face made the overgrown turtle sweat, and for the first time in his life he was truly terrified. "The Grand Stars are very powerful items, they are used by a woman named Rosalina to power her Comet Observatory, which allows her to travel through space. I had heard of their legendary power and hoped to use them for my plans. So I took them from her. I was on my way to figuring out how to properly use them for my plans, but unfortunately once I had everything all figured out my armada came across your ship. Only one managed to stay in my grasp, the others scattered off into space." He didn't need to continue, his captor knew the rest already.

There was a moment of silence before his captor chuckled. "Tell me more about these plans of yours."

"Well... I wanted to get revenge on my rival Mario, for all the times he's beaten me before!" Bowser spat, but he calmed himself down. He didn't want to make the metal monster angry. "So I was going to kidnap his _precious_ _princess_ and then crush him like the worm he is!"

"And yet here you are in my grasp, too afraid to do anything. You can try and hide it all you want but I can see you shake." His comment made the Koopa tense up. "Now then, how about we get down to business? You see these Grand Stars intrigue me. If these stars are indeed powerful then I could certainly put them to use."

Forgetting his fear Bowser chimed in. "But you only have the one." He instantly covered his mouth with his hands yet again. To his surprise his captor chuckled.

He then turned around, not at all concerned that he wasn't watching his prisoner. "Yes, but I highly doubt that finding the others will be a problem. I just need to work out a few things with my underlings."

Bowser had to admit, it was kind impressive that thee metal monster kept his back turned, as if he didn't think very highly of him. Actually, it did anger him a little, and it made him feel very insignificant. It also showed he wasn't worried about a surprise attack. Although Bowser wasn't stupid enough to try something like that.

"And that brings me to my main point, why are you here?"

The question confused Bowser. "...You b-brought me here." Upon finishing his sentence he gulped, worried that his obvious answer would end in his demise. To his surprise yet again the metal monster laughed lightly.

"Yes but why? You are clearly weak, and it's not like I need anymore minions or servants." He paused, cocking his head slightly to the side. The look of fear on Bowser's face made him smile. "So... what is your answer?"

"...I, uh... don't know."

"Fine, I'll tell you. It's because of your knowledge of the 'Grand Stars', as I have previously stated I could certainly use their power. So here is my offer to you. You will work for me and tell me more about that stars, and will also assist me in gathering the rest." He glanced behind him and noticed the relieved look on his prisoner's face.

"And if I refuse?"

The metal monster turned around and smirked. "Then I will just kill you or torture you, but the decision won't be up to you."

Bowser weighed the two choices in his head. It was either work for the monster who took out his entire army without effort, or possibly die. Now Bowser may not have been the smartest person in the universe, but he was smart enough to see a good deal when it was in right in front of him. Besides, maybe he could find some way to get his revenge, but that would only happen once he learned all of the metal man's secrets. "I will join you."

"A wise decision, you will have power beyond your wildest dreams!" Both of them started laughing manically. "Rise Bowser, and come bask in the glory of your metal lord."

The Koopa stood up and looked his new ruler in the eye. "I do have only one request my lord," He got down upon one knee again. "Can you help me defeat my rival Mario?"

"Oh don't worry, soon enough the entire universe will be at my mercy."

* * *

So not only has Trunks begun his quest but Bowser has found himself working for a mysterious man. I tried to keep the identity of the villain a secret but many of you can probably guess who it is(please don't spoil it for others though). And don't worry, there will be plenty of DBZ villains for Trunks to face considering we haven't seen many of them in Trunks' timeline yet. R and R!

FutureShock


	4. The Grand Tour Begins

Hello and welcome back to my story. This is where things take a slightly different turn than Mario Galaxy(I may take some inspiration from it but for the most part it will be my own ideas). Now just sit back and enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Four: The Grand Tour Begins

Trunks gulped before choosing the only available galaxy. After taking a deep breath he was ready to depart, and with a quick spin the half-Saiyan blasted off from his current location. Once again a scream of both excitement and terror escaped his mouth, his launch speed was much greater than he would have anticipated. Despite his slight fear he was actually amazed by the sight. He could see a good amount of outer space from where he was flying. The view was _much better_ than from the insides of a ship... which made him remember his space suit was still in the terrace. He would have been more worried but it didn't seem like anyone would steal it, and there wasn't really any chance of it getting lost either.

After a few short moments the half-Saiyan's flight slowed down, and he gracefully landed upon one of the planets within the galaxy. Once on solid ground he got a good look around. The planet he was currently on was barren for the most part. There were sparse amounts of grass but for the most part it was either dirt or rock. He could see several trees and rock formations in the distance as well. _'Well, at least finding a bright star in this place shouldn't be too hard.'_ The Saiyan thought to himself before ascending into the air. Upon surveying the surrounding area he didn't see any stars.

His body was enveloped by a white aura as he flew all around the planet. His eyes scoured the landscape below, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. Much to his disappointment he didn't find anything. He searched up, down, left, and right, but had yet to find a star. The task was quickly becoming annoying.

Annoyance soon turned into frustration as the half-Saiyan flew around the seemingly lifeless planet. Eventually he stopped his flight and landed upon a cliff, one that was overlooking a good amount of the planet. "How am I supposed to find these things? It's not like I have a radar or have the power to sense them." It was then that he noticed a something fly across the sky, it almost looked like a comet or shooting star. He continued to watch as the object crashed miles away from his current location. The weird part was that he could sense energy coming from that location, which he didn't sense before. "I'd better check it out." Another aura engulfed his body as he headed over to the mysterious falling object.

Minutes later he arrived at the crash sight. Lying deep within a crater was a small, round ship. Trunks stared curiously as the ship opened up, revealing a blue skinned alien wearing Saiyan armor. His head resembled a lizard, and his armor had huge yellow shoulder pads. A weird device was attached to the side of his head. The alien pressed the button on the side of the device. "Hm, no power levels detected on this planet. Good, at least now I can search for more of these stars in peace."

Unbeknownst to the blue alien Trunks was watching him from a far, keeping his power level down as to not be noticed. It wasn't because he wasn't strong enough to take on the stranger, he just wanted to see what he was up to. Plus the alien claimed to be searching for stars also, so maybe he already had a few on him. The strange thing about this though was that this guy looked like he was once part of Frieza's army. _'The Cold empire had to have been beaten by Goku before his death, but the remnants of the army must still be around.'_

"I don't get why we need these strange stars, but I guess I don't have much of a choice." A beeping sound was then heard, it was coming from the device in his ear. "A power level right behind me, impossible! This planet should have no life on it." He turned around and noticed a strange man floating above him.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm very much alive." Trunks descended onto the ground and slowly walked towards the blue creature. "Now then, tell me who you are now!"

The alien laughed. "Yeah right, there's no way I'd tell you that."

"Okay, so how about instead you tell me why you're here." Trunks said menacingly.

Again the alien laughed, not seeing the lavender haired stranger as a threat. "Ha, my scouter says that you have a pathetic power level. So I highly doubt you're in a position to make demands." The lizard like creature then dropped into a fighting stance. "I'll tell you what, if you point me in the direction of the closest Power Star I might let you live." He stated with an evil grin.

"You're looking for those stars as well, I didn't know they were so popular." The half-Saiyan said in a mixture of surprise and amusement.

"Like I would waste my time explaining anything to someone like you. And if you aren't going to help me I'll just have to kill you." With a fierce shout the alien rocketed from his position, his right fist ready to strike the face of the fool in front of him. His fist made impact... but to his horror it did nothing.

Trunks narrowed his eyes as his opponent gulped. "I know you don't have the power to beat me so I suggest you give up." Much like Frieza's men in the past the blue stranger in front of him was very weak. Yamcha would be able to beat him.

"Never!" The alien shouted as he kicked the man in the side of the head, and just like before it had zero effect.

A flurry of punches and kicks struck the Saiyan in his face. Trunks made no effort to dodge or block, there was just no need. Feeling bored the half-Saiyan decided to fight back. A single punch made contact with the alien's gut, stopping all of his movement. Before his foe could react Trunks kneed him square in the jaw, launching him high into the air. Moving at high speeds he appeared above his foe, and one mighty kick launched the blue skinned soldier into the ground.

A small crater was formed where the soldier had made impact, leaving behind only a cloud of dust and smoke. From the crater the alien got to his feet, feeling pain coursing throughout his body. His aura spiked upwards as he charged up two energy spheres within his hands. Without hesitation he fired a barrage of energy blasts at his enemy, each one hitting their mark. He didn't want to take any chances so he kept on firing, unaware that his foe was long gone.

By the time his scouter picked up his foe's new location it was too late, and he was unable to block the foot that struck his chest. A cry of pain escaped his mouth as the blow launched the blue skinned soldier into a close by rock formation. Not a moment after the alien returned to the fray, throwing punches like a madman. Each attack was either blocked or did no damage, only making the blue soldier angrier. Another counterattack from the stranger stopped all momentum the alien had... which wasn't very much to begin with.

"You can make it easier on yourself if you just surrender."

"This can't be happening, my scouter says you're weaker than I am!" He shouted in defense.

"That 'scouter' of yours is useless against someone who can raise and lower their power level like I can." His statement shocked the blue skinned fighter. "I'm also not using my full strength, so unless you want to see me at my maximum I suggest you answer some of my questions."

The alien spit on the ground. He didn't want to give out any kind of information, but at the same time he wanted to live. It was then that his scouter beeped once more, indicating several more powers were closing in on their location. _'So my comrades finally show up, maybe now we can take this arrogant punk down.'_ A smirk quickly came onto his face. "Fine, since I clearly can't win I guess I have no choice."

Trunks eyed him curiously. He knew that Frieza was a stubborn man and was not one to give in so easily, and it only stood to reason that his grunts would have the same mentality. Of course, a lowly grunt wasn't nearly as tough as someone like Frieza, and would be more likely to give in to a stronger opponent. It was then that he sensed more people approaching, and they were all around the same level in strength. It became quickly obvious to the Saiyan that the other powers must have been more soldiers, having no doubt detected him with their scouters. "What are you waiting for, someone to come and save you?"

Stalling time, the alien waved his hands dismissively. "What?! Don't be absurd, I'm the only one of my squadron who came out to this sector." _'There's no way he could know about the reinforcements coming, not when he doesn't have a scouter.'_

Trunks scoffed as he felt the energies get closer and closer. "Well, start talking!"

From the other side the blue alien was waiting for the right moment to strike. If he was going to win he needed to make sure everything went perfectly. Just a little further and he and his squad mates would unleash hell upon the foolish boy. Once his fellow aliens were in view they saw the strange warrior squaring off with one of their squad mates. The blue skinned alien nodded, signaling that the boy was a threat. Without saying a word the reinforcements began charging up energy attacks, patiently waiting for the next signal. "NOW!" In a flash a barrage of energy spheres crashed against the Saiyan warrior, resulting in huge and quite loud explosion. Not wanting to take any chances they kept on firing. Each subsequent blast increased the size of the already huge cloud of dust and smoke.

After a few moments they stopped firing, taking time to admire their work. "That guy wasn't so tough, I can't imagine why you would need help Berri." A green skinned bat like alien joked, causing the other soldiers to laugh.

"Shut up! He claims that he can raise and lower his power, and I guess there was some truth to his statement." Berri stated.

As the smoke started to clear out the grunts noticed no one was there, the only thing left behind was a gigantic crater. Each soldier smirked at their supposed victory. "That guy was a joke, taken out so easily by a bla-" A beam shot through the body of one of the aliens, killing him on the spot. His lifeless body fell to the ground shortly after.

The others looked on in horror at what they had just witnessed.

"I'm not going to ask again, are you going to answer my questions or not?"

They looked up and saw the mystery man, who was unscathed by the blasts. To learn that their attacks were worthless made the aliens tremble slightly.

Trunks' answer came in the form of everyone but Berri charging him, all of them having murderous looks in their eyes. Once they were close enough they went began attacking him, throwing punches and kicks with everything they had. Luck was not on their side though as their attacks were pretty much feathers against a brick wall, and the half-Saiyan barely felt anything from their weak attacks. Trunks quickly became fed up with their feeble attempts and let out a powerful scream, blowing the grunts away with nothing but his energy.

One by one the soldiers crashed into nearby pieces of land, resulting in them getting covered with debris. As the soldiers stood up they saw their foe building up his energy. Two large energy balls formed within the lavender haired man's hands, a cocky smirk soon followed. Without warning he flung them at the general area the soldiers were in, making them all scatter.

A loud boom echoed throughout the planet, which went along perfectly with the giant mushroom cloud of dust.

The remaining members of the squadron were able to avoid the blasts and regroup in the air. "That was close." The green skinned warrior noted.

"Now do you see what I was talking about?" Berri asked, feeling more annoyed about failing to kill the stupid brat.

"Bah, that guy's a weakling... we just need a better strategy."

Before anyone could react their scouters beeped, signaling that their foe was... right above them. Berri looked on in horror as the stranger cupped their hands together and slammed them down onto his head, squishing it like a grape. The alien's body plummeted into the ground and ultimately spelled his demise.

The two remaining soldiers were frozen in fear, there was nothing they could do against such a powerful monster. In a rash decision the orange alien fired off an energy blast, but it was easily deflected. He had very little time to plan his next move as the man moved to right in front of him. With a single punch to the gut the alien died, and his body dropped from the sky in a lifeless manner.

"So, anything else you want to try?" Nervous shaking was Trunks' response. It seemed he had won this fight after all, which didn't really surprise him.

The bat like alien gulped as he went over his options in his head, unfortunately there weren't too many of them. The most obvious and smart one being to run. His aura flared as he flew as far as he could from his current spot, hoping that he would be able to escape his more powerful foe. As he was escaping he cocked his head back and didn't see his foe. "Phew, I was too fast for him. Now all I need to do is..." He stopped talking once he bumped into something... or in this case, someone.

"What was that about being too fast?"

The alien shrieked but had little time to react to the fist that 'lightly' smacked him in the face. The sheer impact was enough to send the alien plummeting straight into the ground at very high speeds. A loud boom echoed throughout the barren planet as the bat like creature made impact with the solid ground. He now found himself deep within a crater.

Trunks slowly descended onto the ground and made his way over to the crash site. Once there he watched as his foe struggled to get back to his feet. "I wouldn't try moving if I were you." The Saiyan warned, making his opponent gasp.

"P-please... sp-pare me."

 _'Is he serious?'_ Trunks thought to himself. This was one of Frieza's men, a cold ruthless soldier who has probably killed hundreds of innocent lives, and now he was begging for mercy?! He scoffed before getting down on one knee and grabbing the alien by his armor. "I'll tell you what, if you tell me who you work for and why your after these power stars I might let you live."

"N-never!" He yelled defiantly. Even though he wanted to live he also knew the price for treason, and that price was much worse than death.

A sigh escaped the half-Saiyan's mouth. He would have to do this the hard way, and although he didn't want to Trunks was going to take a page from his father's book. So he raised his left leg and then brought his foot down onto the alien's arm, making him howl in pain. "Still refuse to talk?"

"It'll t-take more than t-that to break me... sc-cum! I'm no traitor!" Right as he finished his sentence he felt his other arm being crushed, and once again he yelled in pain.

"Last chance, are you going to answer me or not?"

With his last remaining strength the alien raised his left hand and stuck out his middle finger.

The Saiyan sighed. Trunks then held out his palm and unleashed a wave of energy, killing the alien swiftly. For anyone else the sight of someone being murdered in cold blood would have been sickening... but the Saiyan had seen it almost all his life, so by now it was nothing new to him. Another sigh came out of his mouth. He was back to square one yet again, and those aliens only proved to complicate matters. While he could probably take out any of Frieza's remaining soldiers he didn't know who their new leader was, or how strong he was. Plus they were also after the Power Stars and there was no telling how many they had collected so far. "Well... I guess I should keep searching this... wait, there are more of them?" He suddenly sensed two more lifeforms, and they were in the same location.

Trunks was unsure why they didn't come to aid their comrades but it didn't really matter. This was his chance to maybe get some answers. A white aura engulfed his body as he headed towards the two remaining soldiers. He flew straight across the planet and was unsure of exactly how far away they were. It didn't help that everything looked the same. After a few moments of flying he discovered a spaceship, and it looked similar to the one Frieza and his father used except this one was much smaller.

He descended onto the ground and searched for an opening in the ship, unfortunately he couldn't find one. So he just decided to make his own. One small ki blast was all it took to blast open a hole in the wall, and he entered the ship soon after.

The ship itself wasn't anything special. There was a long circular hallway with several doorways that led to various rooms, and the Saiyan had a feeling he knew what most of these rooms were. While there was a part of him that wanted to explore the ship he was more interested in finding the two people aboard the vessel. He eventually located the room they were in, and after opening the door he readied himself. No doubt a fight would break out.

To Trunks' surprise the two aliens were slumped over a control panel, both appearing to be fast asleep. One of them had bright green skin and the other had dark red skin. The half-Saiyan slowly walked over to the front of the console, taking his time to eye the aliens. _'This must have been why they didn't help out their allies.'_

Suddenly one of the aliens woke up from his nap, yawning loudly while smacking his lips. It took him a few moments to notice the stranger standing in front of him, and once he did he yelped in surprise.

His scream woke his partner up. "Damnit Pear I was in the middle of a good... dream..."

"Glad to see you're awake, perhaps you'd like to lend me a hand?" Trunks asked, smirking in amusement at the situation.

The duo exchanged glances before Pear tapped his scouter, hoping to come in contact with his squad leader. To his shock no one answered.

"Don't bother trying to contact your comrades, I just finished killing them."

"What?!" They screamed in unison.

Trunks nodded. "Now unless you want to suffer the same fate I suggest you answer my questions."

Pear looked over to his partner and the two huddled up. They then started whispering to each other, although it was pointless as Trunks could hear their conversation. "Do you think he's telling the truth?

"No way, he's bluffing!"

"Than why aren't the others responding?"

"Their scouters are probably off, or maybe it's a malfunction."

"Okay but don't you think they would have seen this guy entering our ship?"

"They went off looking for those stars, so they couldn't have been watching the entrance."

The Saiyan decided not to reveal being able to hear them, he figured it was only a matter of time before one of them did something stupid.

"I think he's telling the truth." Pear stated.

"Well I think he's a weakling and you're a coward!" The red alien stood up. "There's no way some punk like you could ever beat us." He then rocketed from his chair, ready to punch the intruder in the face. His fist hit the starnger right in his cheek... but that was it. The alien began to panic upon realizing that his attack did nothing.

In response to his pitiful strike Trunks placed his hand onto the alien's chest, he then fired an energy blast. The blast blew through his body and killed him instantly. His body then fell onto the ground and started leaking blood.

Pear was at a loss for words and his whole body started trembling. One simple blast was all it took to kill his comrade. He was now even more sure of the man's claims, and if he wasn't careful he would wind up dead.

Trunks glanced over at the cowering alien. "Last chance, are you going to tell me what I want to know or not?"

The green skinned alien sighed, realizing there was zero point in resisting. "Alright fine, I'll tell you," Pear relented. "Just let me do one thing real quick." He removed his scouter and then crushed it. "Just a precaution in case anyone's listening."

"First of all I want to know who you work for, and don't say Frieza because I know for a fact he's dead."

"You're right, the Cold family has been long dead... but their former empire still exists. Our leader was once a proud soldier of Frieza. He wasn't an average soldier like me, no he was a lot stronger. His power came close to reviling Dodoria and Zarbon." He smiled at the fact of his leader being able to stick it to those two lapdogs.

The half-Saiyan nodded, feeling grateful for his compliance. "So how did he live this long then?"

"Luckily for him he didn't go to planet Namek, he was on another planet overseeing a mission for Frieza. Anyway after the Cold family died someone had to take over, and he was the one who took control. He rallied all the remaining members of the former army, already having plans set in motion. With everyone gathered he promised all of us great power if we obeyed him."

"But how was he going to give them power?" Trunks questioned.

Pear smirked. "On one of his missions he found a planet that held a mysterious tree, growing in that tree was magic fruit. If one were to eat that fruit it would increase their power greatly. Unfortunately there wasn't enough for all of us so he picked the best of us and gave them each a fruit."

 _'These guys most not have been deemed worthy of the fruit. That would explain why they are so weak.'_

"Thanks to the fruit he gained incredible power, and with his leadership the empire is even greater than it was before!" The green alien yelled.

"So why are you after the Power Stars?"

"I'm pretty sure the name gives it away."

"Now where can I find your leader?" Trunks asked.

The alien crossed his arms. "There's no way I'd tell you that!" Even if there was the threat of death Pear wouldn't put his leader in jeopardy. Telling the stranger about the Fruit of the Tree of Might was bad enough.

Trunks merely smirked. "Well I appreciate your co-operation, so I guess I'll be on my way."

As he began walking away Pear felt confusion. "Wait you're just going to leave?"

"Yep, I got what I needed from you." The half-Saiyan took a few steps forward before pausing. "Oh wait I did have one more question. How are you finding these stars exactly?"

"After stumbling across one our scientists modified our scouters to be able to track them." The green alien stated, pointing to the remains of his former device. "Too bad there aren't any more on this ship." He said, feigning concern.

Trunks looked at his feet and noticed that the other alien still had his scouter on. He bent over and removed it from his head. "Yeah, too bad." He smirked while putting it over his right ear.

Pear gasped at the sight, having forgotten his partner's scouter was still in tact. He realized he needed to destroy that device or else this lavender haired man could easily find the stars, and possibly his ruler. In his left hand he charged a small amount of ki, preparing to blast the scouter to bits. Before he could even move his hand the man had grabbed a hold of it. Pear grit his teeth as he used his free hand to punch his foe.

With one quick punch Trunks launched the alien into the back wall of the ship, making an indent in said wall. Pear remained stuck for a few moments before falling onto the hard floor.

"I told him I would spare him." The half-Saiyan said in disappointment. He then moved his hand over to the side of his scouter. "Now let's see how this works." He remembered seeing the aliens tap the button on the side, so he did the same. Once he did that several symbols appeared within the blue eye piece. Said symbols flashed for several moments before finally stopping. Now on the screen were several dots followed by an arrow pointing at them. Trunks could only guess that those dots represented the Power Stars, so he headed in that direction.

His new found scouter had him run past several doors before reaching one near the center of the circular ship. He pushed the button mounted on the wall and the door slid open. Inside the room was a huge control panel, most likely to pilot the spacecraft. Off to the side were a few crates, and one of them supposedly held the stars. The Saiyan walked over and took the lid off of the left most crate. Inside said crate were five power stars. A smile came to Trunks' face as he finally made some progress. He bent down to pick up the power stars but upon his touch they vanished.

"What the?" He tried to grab another but it too disappeared. "What's going on?"

"It's because of me."

Trunks yelped in surprise at the new voice, but he soon calmed down upon realizing who was speaking. "Luma? Where are you?" He searched the area but didn't see the star creature anywhere.

"I'm inside of you Trunks, and I'll remain here until you find all the Grand Stars." Luma explained. "With me inside of you any Power Star or Grand Star you touch will be sent back to the Observatory."

"At least I won't have to carry them all by myself." Trunks joked. He then pressed the button on his scouter and the device began searching for more stars. "Hm, it says there a few more not to far from here." The half-Saiyan flew out of the top of the ship, creating a hole in the process. Right as he was about to fly off in search of the stars he stopped. He held out his hand and fired an energy blast, destroying the alien spaceship. _'Better safe than sorry.'_ Trunks thought to himself before flying off towards the dots on his scouter.

* * *

That's a rap and I hope you enjoyed. If the scouters can be programmed to find Dragon Balls I think they can also be programmed to find Power Stars. And there are probably more Trees of Might out in the universe, it's not too much of a stretch to assume there are. That's all for now so R and R and have a wonderful day!

FutureShock


	5. Fright Knight

Chapter Five: Fright Knight

Frieza planet 68, the former home of the Cold Empire. King Cold himself established his empire on that planet many years ago. He chose that planet because it was centralized around dozens of planets. Meaning he could go from one planet to the next in no time at all. Once he had his kingdom established he got to work conquering every and any planet. And after his conquest he had several planets under his control.

That was a long time ago, and things have changed. Frieza planet 68 had remained the same, even after the defeat of Cold and his family. Since it was already there, the new leader of the empire used that planet as his starting point. The planet itself was mostly barren, due to most of the natural landscape being destroyed. Located on the center of the planet was a castle, not too big and not too small. It was elevated off the ground having several floors, each floor containing something different. There were armories, research labs, healing chambers etc. On the outside of the fortress were platforms for the attack balls, they were used for both landing and taking off. There were also lots of turrets and cannons, positioned on all sides of the fortress. It was the best way to ward off any invaders.

Suddenly a large ship came into orbit, the biggest ship out of all of the others. It was very similar in design to the ones used by the Cold Family. Slowly the ship touched down onto the landing platform located behind the large structure. Four soldiers ran over to the ship and waited, a few moments later a hatch opened up.

Walking out of the ship was a tall dark reddish/purplish skinned alien. His face was slightly humanoid except he had two big horns coming out of the sides of his head. He wore chest armor with shoulder pads and a black cape. He had tight black pants on, and he wore white gloves and boots. There was also a purple scouter attached to the side of his head.

"Ah lord Plum, you've returned from your trip." One soldier bowed. "Were you able to obtain more seeds my lord?"

"No, that trip was a complete waste of time. Apparently our scientists need to do better research!" He exclaimed while walking into the palace. After only a few steps he glanced backwards, signaling his grunts to follow him. "Any news to report?"

A cyan alien spoke up. "Yes sire, unfortunately we lost contact with one of our ships." He stated making his ruler stop.

"What?!" Plum turned around abruptly.

The same alien gulped as beads of sweat fell down his face. "Y-yes my lord, i-it was the ship used by Berri's squadron. We tried to contact him to check on his progress with the Power Stars, but no one's responding. Our computers also tell us that their ship is offline."

Lord Plum clenched his fists in rage. "How can that be possible, that sector is supposed to be devoid of life!"

"It is sir... b-but don't worry, we've already sent a team out to investigate." He covered his face, expecting some kind of thrashing. To his surprise his leader didn't hit him.

"Drop your guard I'm not going to punish you, that was Frieza's way. Tell me exactly how long ago did this team leave?"

The alien sighed in relief. "A few hours ago."

"Good, so it shouldn't be long before we get some answers." He said before continuing his walk into the palace. "Now then, how goes the Power Star hunt?"

Another alien spoke up. "Good sire, we've gathered a few of them and our scientists are analyzing them as we speak." He informed making his leader smirk.

"Excellent, as soon as you figure them out report to me immediately." He received several salutes. "You're dismissed." He told them, returning them to their duties. Plum headed over to his throne. He sat down and decided to take some time to decompress. _'This is troubling, perhaps we aren't the only ones searching for the Power Stars. No matter, I can crush anyone who dares opposes me.'_

* * *

Trunks flew through the deep void of space, still amazed by being able to do that. It was one thing to fly a spaceship through space, but to actually do it yourself was more... exciting. The half-Saiyan could see so much more on his own. Eventually he arrived at the location of the Power Stars, which was a planet that was kind of near the one he was just on. Although the two planets looked much farther away then they actually were.

He set foot next to a nearby village, and it looked pretty rundown. In fact the entire planet looked barren. The grass was dead and so were the trees, and the sky was pretty much pitch black, except for all the stars. The moon was nearly full as well. In the distance Trunks could hear owls hooting and bats flying around the night sky. To him it looked like something out of an old school horror movie, the kind he would watch with Gohan once upon a time.

"Alright, so the Power Stars are located over in that castle." He glanced up at the big structure, which seemed to loom over the village. Right as he was about to go he stopped and noticed something... the town was abandoned. Well, it wasn't totally empty, the Saiyan could sense several energies around. Except they were all inside their respective homes. Curious, Trunks began wandering around the town, and he couldn't shake the creepy vibe he was feeling. It didn't help that the wind was blowing window shutters open and closed. _'This is very bizarre.'_ He thought to himself as he continued his walk. _'Well I guess I'd better get going.'_

Right as he was about to leave he heard footsteps behind him, he turned around and saw an older man walking towards him.

"It isn't safe to be outside tonight, I suggest you find some shelter."

Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

The man sighed. "Here follow me." He beckoned as he led the stranger to his home. After a few moments of travel they arrived at a small cottage, the two walked inside and then the man closed the door behind them. "Take a seat I'll just be a few minutes. I'm making tea, would you care for some?"

"Sure." Trunks nodded, just now realizing how thirsty he was. The Saiyan then took a seat at the table.

"Be right back." He said. A few minutes later he came back into the room with a tray containing a tea kettle and two cups. He set the tray down and poured the liquid into the two cups, he then handed one to the stranger sitting across from him.

"Thank you." The Saiyan said before taking a sip, his eyes then widened in surprise. "Mm, this tastes great."

The man chuckled. "Yes pumpkin tea is our specialty, some have even called it the best tasting tea in the universe. My name is Sten by the way."

 _'We certainly don't have anything like this on earth. I'll have to see if I can bring some of this home, mom would love this.'_ Trunks mused. "I'm Trunks." The two shook hands. "So... what's so bad about tonight?"

"Because tonight is Hollow's Eve, the night _he_ comes alive." Sten explained

"Who?"

"Every Hollow's Eve a being of unimaginable power comes alive; the Fright Knight. We aren't sure for how long he's been around, but every year at this time the Fright Knight shows up. At first he didn't bother us, in fact we used to celebrate his appearance."

"Like some kind of holiday?" The Saiyan questioned.

Sten nodded. "Precisely. We would present offerings to him and he would ride over our villages on his horse. If we didn't have any offerings he would set that village a blaze, as a way of punishing those who didn't believe. It was all in good fun and everyone loved the festivities... until a visitor came to our planet. On one Hollow's Eve a strange alien arrived and began causing trouble, and he even attacked the Fright Knight. Lets just say it didn't go so well for him."

"So this alien was beaten?"

"Badly. He never even stood a chance. Unfortunately this meant bad things for us. You see the Fright Knight became angry at the assault, he took it as a sign that we wanted him dead. After that incident he began attacking everyone, showing no mercy. He would set fire to every building, and anyone caught outside would be slaughtered. We tried to fight him but not even our finest warriors could challenge him. So all we can do is hunker down in our houses and hope for mercy." The man lamented.

"And he only comes on this one night?" He received a nod. "So why not attack when he's asleep."

Sten shook his head no. "We tried that, but it's no good. He can still come alive if attacked, and although weaker he is still too strong for us."

This 'Fright Knight' interested the Saiyan. If he was as strong as the old man claimed then perhaps Trunks would have a good fight. While he didn't exactly how strong this guy didn't sound like a push-over. It would be a true test of his Saiyan skills. "I'll tell you what Sten, I can go fight Fright Knight for you." He offered.

"That is unwise, no one can defeat him. It is impossible."

"Not for someone like me, I'm pretty strong myself." Trunks assured.

"Well I think you're pretty crazy... but I guess I can't stop you." He then stood up and walked over to the window. "Up on top of that hill you'll find his castle. In the throne room a jack-o-lantern can be found resting on the throne... that is him."

The Saiyan nodded as he stood up and made his way to the door, he opened it and walked outside. "Alright, I'm off." He jumped into the air and flew off towards the castle.

"Good luck Trunks, you'll need every bit of it."

* * *

After a brief period of flight the Saiyan was inside of the castle, and it looked exactly how he expected. It was dark, gloomy, musty. There were armor statues, chandeliers, tables and chairs, and most of all spider webs. Trunks also noticed a bunch of pumpkins but didn't pay them any mind. "Alright now where are they?" He tapped his scouter and proceeded to follow the arrows pointing to the dots.

He flew in and out of several rooms before finding the location of the stars. He entered the throne room and spotted a huge treasure chest behind said throne. Inside the chest were several Power Stars. He touched them and much like last time they disappeared. The jack-o-lantern described to him was also present, resting nicely on the big chair. Curiosity got the best of him and he walked over to the carved pumpkin. Despite the warnings he picked it up. _'Hm so this is where the Fright Knight lives... strange, I don't think there's anyone in here.'_

Instantly the pumpkin lit up, a bright green fire came to life. Trunks hastily threw it onto the ground. As soon as he did that laughter could be heard... well it was more of bellowing guffaw, but he couldn't find the source. Suddenly the fire exited the pumpkin and started swirling around in mid air. The Saiyan stared on in shock as the flames started to take form. It appeared to be humanoid but Trunks couldn't get a good look as he was quickly blinded by a bright flash of light. Once his vision returned he saw what could only be the Fright Knight.

Standing in front of the Saiyan was a man wearing very dark armor. Draped over his back was a blood red cloak. At his side was a sword safely kept within a sheath. The thing that stood out the most was his head. His eyes and mouth looked like a jack-o-lantern and his head was being engulfed by the green fire from before. "Who dares awaken the Fright Knight?!" Said knight stared at the stranger in front of him, and then he broke out into laughter. "Oh, it's just another foolish mortal."

"So you're the Fright Knight, I heard that you've been terrorizing the people of this planet." Trunks stated with anger.

"That's right. Every Hollow's Eve I go out and unleash fear and chaos upon this pathetic world!"

Trunks narrowed his eyes. "Well it stops here got it?" His fists clenched as he sized up his opponent. The knight didn't appear to have that much power, so fighting him would be easy.

Fright Knight laughed once more. "You mortals are all the same. You come here and act all heroic, and then you're easily beaten."

"Oh don't worry, I won't be easily defeated."

"We'll see about that." Fright Knight's hands started glowing green, he then thrust them outwards. A huge wave of energy exploded from his hands, catching the fool off guard. The impact knocked his foe backwards and sent him skidding into the previous room. Without wasting any time he fired off a ball of energy aimed straight for his opponent. The result was a loud boom followed by a shroud of smoke and dust. "Hm, too easy."

All of a sudden the half-Saiyan came flying towards the knight, his fist raised. With a fierce battle cry he socked his foe in the face, sending him crashing through the back wall of the fortress. He shook out his hand; that armor was made out of some very hard metal. After a brief wait he flew out of the newly made window, only to be met with a boot striking his gut. As he was hunched over his opponent threw a fist but he caught it before it could hit anything.

The knight tried to pull his hand free but couldn't, so he just used his other hand to smack his foe in the face. Before the fist could hit his enemy fazed out of sight, leaving the armored man confused. The Fright Knight looked around but saw nothing. He was starting to get angry, but couldn't act upon it as a boot made contact with his head. His body crashed into the ground and made a giant crater. Luckily for him his armor was tough and showed no signs of damage. So he got right back up to his feet and held his palm out towards the fool. Seconds later a green ball of ki escaped his open hand.

With a simple flick of his arm the blast was deflected. Unfortunately he failed to see the knight move, and thus received a headbutt. The Saiyan grit his teeth and tried to ignore the pain, especially since his opponent was right in front of him. The two then threw a rapid series of punches and kicks at the other. Shockwaves exploded in the night sky as the warriors battled it out. Every hit thrown was either blocked or dodged, and it appeared that neither fighter had any kind of advantage.

Their brawl took them close to a forest, and the Fright Knight got an idea in his head. He grabbed his foe's leg and then tossed him into dead forest below. Then with his hands out in front of him he shot a barrage of ki blasts at the entire area, destroying the entire landscape within seconds. Confident in his victory he crossed his arms across his chest. His flaming eyes stared down at the destruction below, waiting to see the corpse of his opponent. Once he could see clearly all he saw was barren earth. "That last attack must have killed him... oh well, it was fun while it lasted." Just then he was hit from behind by an energy blast. "What the?"

Fright Knight had no time react as the Saiyan rammed his shoulder into said knight. Trunks then started pummeling his opponent with punches, not letting up for a second. That combo was finished with the Saiyan cupping his hands together and slamming them down onto the head of his foe. His arms moved way above his head and a yellowish orange sphere of energy formed. It grew in size and was nearing the size of a small moon. "FINISH BUSTER!" Trunks launched the attack at the Fright Knight, and upon impact it exploded in a huge burst of light and smoke.

Despite the attack probably doing damage Trunks knew it wasn't enough to finish the job. He then sensed his armored foe behind him. Quickly turning around, Trunks caught the fist aimed for his face. He countered with a punch of his own but it was blocked by the knight's arm. The two then exchanged another rapid series of blows. Their fists collided and created shockwaves as a result. This went on for a while until the half-Saiyan kneed Fright Knight in the chest, he then brought his hands together and blasted his opponent away.

Fright Knight flew across the sky before stopping himself, right as his foe flew over to him. The two were now staring each other down. "I'm impressed, not many can stand up to my power." The knight said.

"Well I didn't think you would be such a challenge." Trunks praised.

"Oh if you thought that was a challenge then wait till you see my full power!" He exclaimed, leaving the warrior slightly shocked. A green aura burst from the knight as he began shouting, the flames coming from his head intensified as well. The planet itself trembled at his power, and harsh winds blew out in all directions.

 _'His power is greater than I expected, and it's still growing.'_ Trunks mused as the knight continued unleashing his power. _  
_

Moments later he stopped powering up, and he took a moment to feel the raw power coursing through him. "It's been a while since I've fought at full power, you should feel honored to have pushed me this far."

"I have to admit, you're pretty powerful. I can see why no one's been able to take you down yet."

"So are you scared?"

Trunks smirked. "No way, in fact, how about I show you my power too." The Saiyan clenched his fists and yelled. He too was making the planet tremble, and the winds he unleashed were even harsher. Seconds later his hair spiked upwards and turned golden, his eyes also turned teal. A bright yellow aura engulfed his body as he ascended into a Super Saiyan. His aura lit the dark sky up and he shined like a star. He ceased his yelling and stared the knight down, a confident smirk on his face as he did so.

"Strange... I've never seen such a transformation before."

"Well then, you're in for a surprise."

In a flash the Super Saiyan vanished, reappearing right in front of his foe. He reeled his fist back and then threw it full force, slamming it into his opponent's head. The impact launched Fright Knight backwards and sent him crashing through the walls of his castle. By the time he exited the other side of his castle Trunks was waiting for him.

Reacting quickly the knight spun around and unleashed a huge wave of energy, causing his foe to take to the skies. The knight flew up and threw a horizontal kick, smacking the Saiyan across the cheek. He then elbowed the golden warrior in the gut, making him hunch over in pain. Using the same elbow he struck the back of the man's head. As his opponent was falling the Fright Knight held his out his palm, making a flaming jack-o-lantern appear within it. He launched it at his foe and once it made contact it created a fiery explosion. That was followed up by a barrage of green energy spheres, all of them hitting his enemy dead on. After a few moments he ceased and laughed once more. His celebratory laugh was cut short as an energy beam came heading his way, forcing him to move to the side.

Right as his enemy moved Trunks suddenly appeared next to him. The Super Saiyan swept his foe's legs and then kicked him in the chest. The impact sent the knight crashing into the ground, and just as he got up he was already under attack. Trunks assaulted him with even more viciousness than before, attacking at a much faster rate than the knight expected. And even though his armored foe was able to block most of them he was having trouble keeping up. One solid blow to the ribs made the armored man howl in agony.

He grit his teeth as he prepared to throw a punch of his own. His arm was caught though and his foe ducked underneath him. The next thing he knew he was socked in the gut, causing him even more pain. Before he could react his opponent blasted him with an energy ball, sending Fright Knight tumbling backwards. The knight stood up and his aura flared, a yell escaped his mouth as he charged at the golden warrior. Punches and kicks were thrown at blinding speed but his attacks were too slow, they were either blocked or dodged entirely. Eventually he did manage to land a blow, but it failed to do any sort of damage.

Before he could even move a knee slammed into his jaw, launching him into the air. From down below Trunks moved his hands in very fast motions before pointing them at his foe. "Burning Attack!" An orangish ball of energy shot out of his palms and rapidly moved towards the soaring knight. Seconds later it collided with the Fright Knight, exploding on contact. The Super Saiyan then watched as his armored opponent fell ungraciously to the ground.

As Fright Knight groggily stood up Trunks slowly walked towards him. "That's it, I'm going to enjoy killing you!" He unsheathed his sword and it instantly became engulfed by green flame. He gripped the handle with both hands and then charged his opponent.

 _'Too bad my sword is still broken.'_ Trunks lamented as he flew up in time to avoid being stabbed. And thus a cycle began of the knight swinging his sword and Trunks avoiding the blade. It was pretty easy, especially since he was faster than his armored foe.

No matter how hard Fright Knight tried he couldn't land a blow. "RAAAAAH!" In blind fury he swung his sword downwards as hard as he could... and to his surprise he managed to hit something. His opponent had blocked the blade with his forearm. The two were now locked in a struggle. Fright Knight kept trying to follow through with his slash, but the Super Saiyan wasn't budging... he wasn't even getting cut! To the knight's horror his sword broke off. The top half fell to the ground as he stared at what remained of his weapon. "I-impossible..." He didn't have time to mourn as he was instantly punched in the stomach.

Trunks then held out his palm and unleashed a wave of energy, blasting a hole through his foe's body. Once again his enemy fell to the ground, but this time there was little to no chance he would get back up. The Super Saiyan descended onto the ground next to him. "Well it looks like I've won."

"N-no... I'm not... f-finished yet." Using the last amount of his strength he reached up and grabbed his head. He then pulled it off his body and threw it at his foe, shocking him in the process.

Said warrior avoided the oncoming head. "What in the world was that?" Just then he felt something hit him from behind, he turned around and saw the head of the Fright Knight.

"Hm, you didn't think it was over did you?" The head spoke. "That body was worthless to me, it only slowed me down. Now I can fight you without any dead weight. So, let's resume shall we?" Fright Knight flung himself at his opponent, but he was quickly knocked away. The head then used that momentum to attack his foe once more. Much like last time he was swatted away, and also like last time he charged once again. This became a pattern, the body-less knight would fling himself at the warrior, and if he was knocked away he would try again. He did actually manage to get a few hits in, but all he was managing to do was annoy his opponent like a bee or a mosquito.

After a while Trunks was getting fed up, so he decided to put an end to this. As the head came around again the Saiyan drew his fist back, and once close enough he punched it as hard as he could. His blow sent the head crashing into the ground creating a crater in the process. Without wasting any time he fired a wave of energy down towards the crater. The scream he heard signaled that the Fright Knight was being destroyed. Once the scream stopped he turned his attention towards the headless body and repeated the process.

With the battle over Trunks let his Super Saiyan strength fade, and his golden hair went back to its lavender color. He then flew back towards the village in order to inform them of Fright Knight's demise.

* * *

"Three cheers for Trunks!" Sten yelled to the large group of people gathered in the town square, a stein filled with hard cider in every hand. The citizens became overjoyed that the Fright Knight had been defeated. No more would they have to suffer under his terrifying power, no more would their lives and homes be destroyed.

As the towns people drank in celebration Trunks simply smiled. "Thank you." He thanked sheepishly.

"Yeah woo!" One woman yelled.

One man, who was already drunk, put a barrel on his head. "Duh look at me, I'm the Fright Knight!" He mocked, making the others laugh.

Another intoxicated man stumbled up to the hero. "I just g-gotta say that you s-sir are a true he-ro. Aw put her there b-buddy." He tried to slap hands with Trunks but only ended up falling flat on his face.

The Saiyan just chuckled nervously.

"We simply can't thank you enough," Sten began. "so if there is anything you need tell us and we will give it to you."

Trunks thought about that for a moment, there wasn't really anything he needed. Then it came to him, there was something that he required. He only hoped that there was someone on the planet that could help him. "Actually yes, is there anyone on this planet who can fix broken swords?"

"Of course, our blacksmith; Noz, is the finest in this galaxy." The old man smiled. "You can find him over yonder." He pointed to building not too far from town square.

"Thanks." The Saiyan said.

Right before he could leave Sten stopped him. "And this is from me, more of that pumpkin tea you love." He handed him a wrapped box and Trunks took it.

He waved goodbye before flying off in that direction. After flying for a few moments the half-Saiyan arrived at the blacksmith, he landed on the ground and walked in. The first thing he noticed was a burly man pounding a hammer onto an anvil.

Said man stopped once he heard someone approach from behind. The blacksmith turned around to face the man. "Can I help you?"

"Yes. I was told you're the best blacksmith in the universe."

Noz smirked. "That's right, no one makes a finer blade than me. So what can I do for you?"

"I was hoping you could repair my sword." Trunks stated.

"Of course, that is my job. Now let me see it."

The Saiyan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a case full of capsules, once he found the right one he grabbed it. He pushed the button and threw the capsule at the ground, making a sword and sheath appear in a flash. Trunks grabbed them both but only handed the sword to Noz, he strapped the sheath across his back. "So can you fix it?" He questioned as the blacksmith inspected it.

"Pfft, that'll be easy. Just give me a few hours and it'll be ready."

"Thank you." He said and then he capsulized his tea. With the tea inside the capsule he placed it inside the container and put that back in his jacket.

And so the Saiyan waited for a few hours. He flew around the planet during that time, doing a little exploring. Nothing really caught his eye though, aside from a few more villages and towns. He didn't spend too much time looking at them as he was more interested in general exploration. After a few hours, although he wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed, he returned to Noz.

"Ah there you are." He greeted with a smile. "That's some blade you have, it was a little harder to repair than I thought."

"So... is it still broken?"

Noz laughed. "Don't worry it's all fixed up." He reached onto the nearby counter and handed the Saiyan his repaired sword.

Trunks grasped it but something looked different. He didn't remember his sword being dark grey. "Did you recolor my blade?"

"No... but I did reforge it." His statement left Trunks confused, making the blacksmith let out a sigh. "That basically means it's stronger. The material your sword _was_ made out of was decent... but not the best. So I used some of my spare Katchin and now your sword should never break again!" Noz stated with pride.

The Saiyan put his weapon in its sheath and then bowed to the man. "Thank you very much, now what do I owe you?"

"Nothing, it's on the house. It's the least I could do for the man who saved our planet."

Trunks nodded before leaving the building. Once outside he tapped the side of his scouter and waited for the device to locate the next Power Stars. After a few seconds the Saiyan had the location, and he quickly flew into the air towards that location.

* * *

Well that certainly was a spooky chapter. I wanted to do a Halloween themed chapter last year but it wouldn't have worked out, luckily this year I was able to... and I'd say two chapters at once is definitely a treat, not a trick. In case you were wondering the Fright Knight was based off of the Headless Horseman from World of Warcraft, and don't worry, that won't be the last battle Trunks finds himself in. Also if you remember Trunks' sword broke when he tried to save his father from Android 18, and I always assumed he held onto it even though it was broken. So Trunks has his sword back and has gathered even more Power Stars, but he still has a long way to go. R and R and have a happy Halloween. (Cue the organ music and some thunder) MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

FutureShock


	6. Underwater Fun

Chapter Six: Underwater Fun

The waves of the seemingly endless ocean crashed against the sandy shores that was the beach planet. The entire planet was just one big beach. There were only a handful of islands on the planet, the rest of it was all ocean. Nobody knew how deep the ocean was, and no one was brave enough to search it. Not many lived on this world, despite it being a perfect vacation spot. Sure there were a few people who would stop by, but most of the time it was an empty planet. And despite all of the craziness in the universe this planet managed to stay untouched.

As Trunks set foot onto the sand he felt a cool breeze caress his face. He took a deep breath and then exhaled, taking in the nice sea air. The Saiyan then took several steps forward, advancing closer to the where the water met the sand. Once there he simply stared out at the ocean, watching the waves rise and then crash against the shore. The only background noise was that of the water and the seagulls soaring in the air. A smile came to his face as he watched nature do its thing. That was what he longed for, peaceful moments such as this. Not having to constantly worry about two killer androids, or having entire cities be demolished in one afternoon.

He then gripped the handle of his newly restored sword, his most prized possession. The half-Saiyan could recall the day he received this weapon, it was his eleventh birthday. He remembered when Gohan handed him the sword, and how cool he thought it was. Trunks wasn't exactly sure where his master got the sword, but at the time he didn't really care. A chuckle escaped his mouth as he thought back to how freaked out his mom was. Trunks didn't even get a chance to hold it as his mother quickly snatched it from his mentor. "You'll get this when you're old enough, swords are very dangerous" He remembered her saying.

Although if he were being honest with himself he didn't really require a sword, he already had the means to defend himself and fight off enemies. Yet he liked having the weapon as it made him feel like more of a warrior. It was also the only thing he had left of Gohan, and he was determined to guard it with his life. Plus now that it had been reforged in katchin it was pretty much indestructible, at least according to the blacksmith. Maybe if there was ever a foe made out of metal he could simply cut them to pieces, sort of like what he did to Frieza.

"Well I guess I should get to work." He stopped reminiscing and tapped the side of his scouter, letting the device locate the Power Stars. Moments later two dots appeared on the small screen. The Saiyan gulped once he realized where the stars were. "Great, they're at the bottom of the ocean." He muttered before sighing. Now would have been a great time to have his space suit, but alas it was back at the observatory. He probably could have flown back and gotten it, but he wasn't exactly sure how far away from it he currently was.

 _'Here goes nothing.'_ With one last deep breath he dove straight into the water. The first thing he noticed were all the fish, coral, and seaweed... and obviously the water. The Saiyan would have loved to have stayed there and admired the beauty of the ocean depths, but he could only spend so much time in the water. So he started swimming towards the Power Stars, taking his time to remember what Gohan had taught him about swimming. _'Make circles with your arms and kick real hard.'_

His arms swung wide as he traversed the deep dark depths of the sea. He carefully avoid anything that could be dangerous to him, and anything that might have gotten in his way. After swimming for a little while he glanced up and could barely make out the sun, which meant he had gone pretty far downwards. Despite having traveled far the half-Saiyan had a feeling he wasn't even close to the bottom yet. And perhaps if he had the ability to he would have sighed in frustration. The farther down he swam the harder it was to continue. Trunks may have been a super powered warrior, but he still needed to breath.

While he pondered his next move he sensed a creature approach to his left, turning his head revealed a giant shark heading his way. If it weren't for the fact that oxygen was sparse he would have yelped in surprise. Due to being in the water his movement wasn't nearly as fast as it normally was, but he was still able to avoid the razor sharp teeth aimed for his body. As the predator came around again the half-Saiyan threw a slow punch, hitting the shark right on the nose and knocking it unconscious.

Trunks had little time to celebrate as he ran out of air. He frantically swam towards the surface but wasn't fast enough to reach it in time. Slowly he felt the water enter his lungs, and his eyes slowly started closing. Out of both options and time Trunks drifted into unconsciousness, seemingly meeting his end. The time traveling warrior had met his fate deep within the oceans on a distant planet, and there would be no to save him or to remember him...

* * *

The eyes of the half-Saiyan slowly opened as his vision returned. He saw the sun high in the sky and felt the sand underneath him... he was alive? Trunks coughed out some water as he groggily sat up, noticing that he was back on solid ground. The last thing he remembered was running out of air down in the ocean. He wasn't sure how he could have ended up on the beach. His eyes then drifted to his right and he noticed an aquatic looking alien, with his head resembling that of a fish.

"Good you're awake." The fishy man told him. "You were lucky I happened to stumble across you while I was out for a swim, a few more seconds and you would have drowned."

"Yeah, that would have been bad." Trunks said with a small chuckle, trying to not think about how he almost died... from drowning no less. _'Father would have been really disappointed if that happened.'_ To make it worse it wouldn't have been the Vegeta of the past, the one who tried to avenge his death. It would have been the father he never knew. These thoughts brought a frown to his face, he would never meet his real father.

The alien stared curiously at the deep in thought stranger. "Hey, are you alright there buddy?"

Trunks came back to reality and looked up at the fish man. "...Yes, I'm fine, just thinking is all." He answered.

"So answer me this, what were you doing all the way down there in the ocean?"

"I was searching for Power Stars, but I guess they were deeper in the water than I thought." Trunks explained, leaving the alien shocked.

"Tell me, these 'stars' wouldn't happen to have eyes would they?"

Trunks never really thought about it, but those two black ovals did kind of look like eyes. "Yes. Why, have you seen them?"

He nodded. "Yes, my people found them at the bottom of the ocean. We didn't know what they were but we could tell there was great power within them, so we held onto them." The alien paused, and shut his eyes tight. "Little did we know what trouble they would cause."

"What do you mean?" The Saiyan questioned.

"A while back we were visited by strange creatures, in fact they wore the same eye piece as you." He noticed the Saiyan tense up slightly, but he didn't pay him any mind. "Anyway, they said they were looking for the Power Stars. They knew they were located at the bottom of the ocean, and luckily for them a few of us were at the surface at the time. Those aliens demanded that we hand over the stars to them. If we refused they said they would kill us, so we had no choice."

"So what did you do?"

The man smirked. "We told them that if they could go all the way down to our underwater city they could have the Power Stars. Obviously the aliens agreed and immediately dove right into the water, and that was their downfall. As you can imagine they didn't get very far before drowning, well... one of them had the ability to breath underwater."

The half-Saiyan raised an eyebrow. "Did he make it to your city?"

After a slight pause he answered. "Yes he did, and once there he demanded we give him the stars. After refusing to do so he started killing us one by one. He would have wiped us all out if it weren't for our leader; Aquarius. Single-handedly he defeated the invader and saved our people." He explained before narrowing his eyes. "Now I have a question, why are you seeking the Power Stars?"

"Well you see I met this girl named Rosalina who watches over the universe, and she needs the stars to power her observatory." Trunks stated, not expecting the man to laugh.

"Do you really think I'm stupid enough to fall for that?" He laughed some more before narrowing his eyes once more. "You're probably just another invader, well you're not getting the Power Stars!"

Trunks groaned. "First of all I can't even reach your underwater city, and second of all if I wanted to attack you I would have done so already." He said with annoyance. Sure he might have been using a scouter and carrying a dangerous weapon, but that didn't mean he was hostile. Although he could rationalize that his story did sound a little ridiculous. If he hadn't experienced this for himself he might not have believed it if told to him by a complete stranger. He then noticed the fishy alien's face start to relax. "I didn't come here to harm you, honest."

"Hm, I suppose you do make a good point... fine, you have my trust." The alien stated. "Alright, I'll take you to our city, but if you want the star you'll have to convince Aquarius to give it to you."

"That's fair." Trunks smiled before extending his hand. "I'm Trunks by the way."

"You can call me Delos." His scaly hand grasped the Saiyan's hand. The two shook hands before Delos pulled his back. "Now then, you'll need a way to get into the city. Obviously you have difficulty breathing underwater."

 _'That's an understatement.'_ The Saiyan rolled his eyes. "So how exactly am I supposed to reach this city then?"

"Hm... I might know of a way," He stated, making Trunks raise an eyebrow. "this planet has seen its fair share of outsiders, they came here because of our fabulous city. Of course, not all of them could breath underwater, so those that couldn't wore these special suits. There suits allowed them to travel beneath the water comfortably."

A sigh of relief escaped the Saiyan's mouth, at least he would be able to actually enter the city. "Where are these suits?"

Delos paused for a moment. It had been so long since someone visited the planet(someone friendly anyway), and he was having trouble remembering where the suits were kept. His scaly hand touched his chin as he continued to think. After a few moments it came back to him. "Ah yes, now I remember." He suddenly began walking in the opposite direction, heading into a jungle. "Follow me." He told the Saiyan.

It took the Saiyan a few moments to compose himself, and he didn't even see the jungle when he first arrived. Shaking off his momentary confusion he followed the alien into the forested area.

The duo wandered through the dense jungle, taking care to avoid any obstructions along the way. Said obstructions mostly included long hanging branches, thick tree roots, and sharp thorn bushes. Anything from nature that blocked their path was either avoided, or easily cut down via the Saiyan's sword. There were also some animals wandering around, mostly snakes, and since Trunks could sense them he knew how to avoid them. Despite those 'obstacles' the two had no trouble navigating through the jungle.

Eventually the duo reached a medium sized metal building, the only non natural thing in the jungle. The building itself was slightly rusted, with the walls and ceiling being riddled with brownish spots. One of the doors had appeared to be ripped off it's hinges, and that wasn't the only piece missing. There were certain parts of the structure that were missing entirely. What was still there was covered in vines. All in all it looked like no one had gone near the building in years.

"Here we are." Delos told his companion. "As you can see we are the first ones to visit this place in quite some time."

"Yeah no kidding." The Saiyan joked as he followed the aquatic alien inside the dilapidated building.

While the outside looked big the inside was much smaller, with a single room and a few side rooms. There wasn't much in the other rooms, aside from some bookcases and storage lockers. Smack dab in the center was a control console, which seemed to have suffered the most neglect. The various monitors were shattered, and the keyboard was missing several keys. The console itself just looked in really bad shape.

"What's the deal with this console?" Trunks asked while staring at the piece of equipment.

"Among the many visitors to our planet were researchers. They actually set up this station, in order to study this planet. As soon as they gathered enough information they simply left."

Trunks looked up from the console. "Did they ever return?"

Delos shook his head no. "We're not sure why, but after a while we never saw them again."

"Maybe they found something that scared them off." The half-Saiyan mused.

"Perhaps, there are certain parts of the ocean that even we haven't been too." The alien stated as he walked over to a rusty locker. After several attempts to open it he managed to pull the door off, and it quickly fell off its hinges. Inside the locker was a scuba suit, complete with a big helmet. "Ah here we go." He grabbed it and shook it out a few times, clearing away any dust.

Hesitantly the Saiyan took it. "Are you sure this thing is clean?"

A smirk appeared on the alien's face. "That's probably the best you're going to do, unless you want to dig around this place."

With a sigh the Saiyan removed his sword and then began putting the old suit on, much to his discomfort. As soon as the musty suit was on he placed the helmet upon his head, connecting it to the rest of his suit. He then grabbed his sword and secured it across his back. He glanced over and noticed his companion snickering at his discomfort. "Let's just get this over with." He mumbled.

"Of course." Delos chuckled as he led the warrior out of the old building.

* * *

After retracing their steps through the jungle the duo arrived back at the beach. They were now staring out into the deep advance of the ocean, readying themselves for the journey ahead. "Are you ready?" The fish man asked.

"Yes... I just hope my suit is ready." That wasn't a joke, even if it sounded like one. He had no idea how long the suit had been sitting in that old locker, and there was no telling if it still functioned properly. And there was only one way to find out.

"Good, now let's go." With a mighty leap the alien entered the water.

Trunks took a deep breath before also diving into the ocean. Upon entering the water he noticed that his suit was still working. There was no water coming in, no air escaping, nothing was wrong. He sighed in relief, now he could finally get the Power Star... well, first he needed to speak to Aquarius. Once he spoke to their leader though he was sure to have that Power Star in no time.

It quickly became apparent to the Saiyan just how deep the ocean was. He had been following Delos for who knows how long. There was no way for him to tell how far down they went, and at this point all he could see was water, nothing but water. After a certain point he couldn't even see any sign of land, of course, that point had already come and gone. If it wasn't for his guide he was sure that he would have been completely lost. He could see why they built their city so far down, no one would ever be foolish enough to journey down here. At least not without the proper equipment.

Eventually the two finally came across something that wasn't just more water. Trunks' eyes went wide as he gazed upon an underwater city. He could see three prominent spires, jutting out of three glass domes. These domes were resting on top of large platforms, and those platforms were connected by long bridges. The structure was raised above the sea floor, being supported by several thick pillars.

Inside the domes he could see various structures, all of which appeared to be made out of marble. Upon closer inspection he could see various designs and patterns etched within the marble. The buildings themselves weren't anything special, it was what he would expect from a city. Now that he was closer he could sense all of the beings that dwelled within said city, and there sure were a lot of them.

"Hey!" Delos yelled, gaining his companion's attention. "There will be plenty of time for sight seeing once we're in the city."

A nervous chuckle escaped the Saiyan's mouth. "Right." He then followed the alien down towards the middle dome. Jutting out of the dome was a small entrance, only big enough for one person to fit inside at a time. As they reached the opening the hatch opened, and he let the alien swim through it first. Once Delos was in Trunks swam through the pipe. After a brief swim he set foot onto solid ground once again. Touching something solid was very refreshing for him, it felt like he had been swimming for days on end.

"Trunks, I would like to welcome you to Haddon." He waved his arm, gesturing to all of the city.

Everything looked so much better from up close, and it looked bigger too. The half-Saiyan scanned the entire area, taking in as much as he could. He could see multiple houses, each with its own unique roof. There were also a good number of statues, which he could only assume were of Aquarius. It all seemed pretty normal... except for all of the aquatic aliens walking around. Said aliens noticed the Saiyan all too quickly, and it became obvious that they hadn't seen anything like him in quite some time.

"Alright, now, time for you to speak to Aquarius." Delos began walking forward, leading his companion towards the palace. The aquatic alien easily navigated through the big crowd. Occasionally he glanced behind himself, just to make sure Trunks didn't get lost. It would have been really easy for him to just wander off.

As the two wandered through Haddon the Saiyan did a little sight seeing. This was the fist time he had ever been in an underwater city, and he was actually enjoying himself. The one thing that bothered him though were the glances and whispers coming from the local populace. While he could understand they were curious about him he was feeling creeped out.

This didn't go unnoticed by Delos. "Well it looks like someone's getting some attention." His guide said with a smirk.

Trunks looked over to his right and saw a girl who had a squid for a head. The reason he knew it was a girl was because her body looked much like that of a human woman. The girl waved at him playfully, making the warrior uncomfortable. While he figured at some point he would start dating he didn't really want to go out with a squid girl.

After a long, and somewhat uncomfortable walk, the duo arrived at the palace. The palace was nothing more than a giant dome, with a big spire sticking out of the top of it. As they neared the palace two guards with spears blocked their path. "Halt! State your business!"

"My friend here seeks audience with Aquarius." Delos explained.

The guards eyed Trunks carefully, trying to discern if he was a threat or not. A few moments later they moved out of the way. "Very well, you have permission to enter." One guard told them. As the Saiyan was walking by he grabbed him by the shoulder. "If you try anything funny we won't hesitate to kill you!"

Despite his threat Trunks remained calm. He expected them to say something like that. "Don't worry, I'll be on my best behavior." He told the guard before following his guide into the throne room. Inside the throne room were dozens of armed guards, all of them ready to protect their leader.

Sitting in an over sized throne was an alien Trunks could only assume was Aquarius. The alien was tall, and a lot bigger than the average fish person. His head resembled Delos' almost exactly. He was wearing a simple blue tunic and brown boots. Although he had a simple look Aquarius had a very commanding presence. That was probably why he chose to wear such simple clothing. No one would think that he was such a force to be reckoned with.

As the duo entered Delos got down onto one knee. "Forgive the intrusion sire, but this man here seeks a favor of you."

"What kind of favor?" Aquarius asked, all the while eyeing the stranger curiously. While he had a feeling that this man wasn't there to cause trouble part of him was uncertain. He could recall the last visitor to his city, and everyone saw how that turned out.

Noticing the slight distrust in the leader's eyes Trunks got down onto one knee. "My name is Trunks, I came here from a far away place. I need the Power Stars you have. You see, there's this girl named Rosalina, she watches over the universe, and she needs those Power Stars to help power her observatory. And before you ask, no, I'm not related to those aliens who attacked you before."

Aquarius took a few moments to mull over his story. On the one hand, it sounded completely ridiculous. Yet at the same time he couldn't feel any deception from Trunks. And he figured that if the Saiyan wanted to attack he would have done so already... or maybe he was waiting for the right moment to strike. Maybe the warrior was going to let them drop their guard, and then slay him and his men and steal the star. After a few moments he let out a sigh. "You understand I have a hard time trusting you?"

"Yeah..." The Saiyan frowned. "maybe there's something I can do to earn your trust?" He was just hoping they trusted him enough to let him prove himself.

 _'Hm, this could be just what I needed.'_ A smile crept onto the alien's face. "There is one thing you can do to help us."

"What is it?" Trunks asked enthusiastically.

"During one of our expeditions we stumbled across a horrifying giant beast, the likes of which we have never seen before. Our finest soldiers are powerless to stop it. Not even my power is enough. It hasn't found us yet, but I fear that..." Aquarius was cut off by the entire palace shaking. "Oh no..."

Trunks diverted his attention towards the entrance, he could sense a pretty big power in that direction. He then mentally prepared himself for a fight.

Just then one of the guards from the outside ran in. "Sire, it's back!"

Aquarius immediately stood up. "Guards, get all the citizens to safety!"

"Yes sir!" They saluted before running off.

"Well if you want to prove your worth now is the time." Delos told his companion.

The half-Saiyan nodded. "Don't worry Aquarius, I'll defeat this monster." He said before running off towards the city. As soon as he exited the palace he saw it... it looked like some kind of giant seaweed monster. It easily towered over Haddon, and it didn't even have any legs! It was like a giant upper body. "Boy he wasn't kidding, that thing is huge!"

The monster was getting closer to the city, and it looked as if it was going to start tearing it apart.

Without hesitation Trunks flew towards the small hatch. While he knew his fighting would be slower underwater he couldn't risk any damage to the city. Once he reached the hatch he flew through it. Now he was almost face to face with the monster, and he wondered what kind of tricks it had up its vines. He got his answer when it shot one of its arms out, trying to grab a hold of the warrior. Trunks dodged out of the way and quickly took out his sword. With one mighty swing he lobbed off the upper part of its arm.

Despite losing part of it's arm the monster didn't seem to care. In fact it simply regrew the part that was chopped off.

 _'So it can regenerate, that's just perfect.'_ He thought to himself, now wondering how he was going to defeat this thing. _'There has to be some sort of weak spot.'_ He snapped out of his thoughts as a huge rock came flying at him. Reacting quickly, he slashed it with his sword, slicing it in half before it could reach him. He then swam over to the beast, hoping that he would find a weak spot up close.

As the warrior drew closer to it the monster brought his arms together, trying to grab hold of the warrior. Unfortunately he was too slow, its opponent was a little bit faster and swam under the attack. It then merged its arms together and slammed them onto the ground. The beast actually managed to hit its target, and bring him to the ground. It held him there for only a few moments before its foe sliced his way out.

A roar escaped the beast's mouth as it swung its right arm. Its arm smacked into its foe as he was getting up, and the swing itself slammed Trunks into a boulder. That was followed up by the monster continuously slamming its arms down onto the warrior. It continued to do so until it stopped. The beast thought it had won and began moving closer to the city. It moved barely a few inches before it got struck by an energy ball. The monster looked down and noticed the warrior was still alive. That made it angry!

Trunks was now right in front of his foe, but he didn't see any kind of weakness. All he could really see was seaweed... lots and lots of seaweed. Before he could even react the monster's stomach opened up, and began closing around him. He tried to fight it, but he couldn't escape. And he also couldn't swing his sword fast enough to cut the constricting seaweed. After a few moments he was completely swallowed by the monster.

Said monster didn't seem to acknowledge its victory, instead it began moving closer to the underwater city. It moved a few feet before suddenly stopping. Then, without warning, the monster exploded! The seaweed that comprised it was sent flying everywhere, and the remains covered both the sea floor, and the city.

Floating where the beast once stood was Trunks, and he was breathing heavier than normal. After he was swallowed up by the monster he realized there was only one way out. Building up his power he unleashed a huge explosive wave of energy, blowing the beast apart in the process. As he caught his breath his scouter located a Power Star. He flew down to the bottom of the ocean and walked over to a pile of seaweed. Digging through it he found a star. "How strange, the star must have created the monster. I didn't know they had this type of power." His expression then hardened. "I can see now why Rosalina would hold onto these, there's no telling what they could do if put into the wrong hands." He noted as he touched the Power Star, sending it back to the observatory.

* * *

The citizens of Haddon were all celebrating... except for those tasked to clean the seaweed off the domes. Those that weren't on duty got to go to the huge party in honor of the monster's defeat. The savage beast that once roamed the briny deeps was finally gone, all thanks to a mysterious stranger.

"Trunks, I can't thank you enough for saving my people from that monster." Aquarius stated as his adviser came up to him. "As promised, here are your Power Stars."

The half-Saiyan bowed before touching them. "Thank you."

Everyone gasped as the stars vanished."The stars vanished!"

"Where did they go?" One woman asked.

"Maybe he's magic!" A man shouted.

"Three cheers for the magic man!" Someone yelled.

The crowd soon erupted in cheers, and they were all going to party even harder than before.

As much as Trunks wanted to stick around and enjoy a party he couldn't, he had many more Power Stars to collect. "Well I should get going, it was nice to meet you all." He began walking back towards the hatch, but before he could leave he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned and saw Delos.

"I hope your quest goes well Trunks, and if you ever need help you know where to find us." Delos said, extending his hand.

Trunks smiled before shaking it. "I will, thank you Delos. You've been a big help." He then entered the hatch. "Goodbye everyone."

"Bye."

"See you later."

"Cya."

"Peace!"

Once the Saiyan was out of the city he began his long swim back to the surface, and it wasn't better than the trip to the city. Luckily he had new found determination. He already found a good number of Power Stars, and he was certainly prepared to find the others. The Saiyan would have them in no time, and once he did Rosalina's observatory would work again.

Rosalina... Trunks thought about her more often than not. He had so many questions for her. There was a lot of mystery surrounding that beautiful girl. The Saiyan started blushing a little, she certainly was pretty... but he pushed those thoughts aside. There were more important things to worry about, and learning more about her was a top priority. At some point during his journey he would pay her a visit, just to see how she was doing. Then he would hopefully get some answers from her.

It was then that Trunks realized he was at the surface. He had spent a good amount of time thinking about Rosalina that he didn't even know how much time had passed. Now that he was back at the surface he leapt out of the ocean and onto dry land. Once on the beach he quickly removed his scuba suit, grateful that he would never have to wear it again. After doing that he secured his sword to his back again. He then tapped the side of his scouter. Moments later he had the location of the next Power Star. "Alright, time to go." With a mighty jump he flew into the atmosphere, heading towards his next destination.

* * *

That's a rap everyone, and thank you for reading. I know there wasn't much action in this chapter but not every chapter will have action in it. So it looks like Trunks is collecting stars at a good rate, and becoming more curious about Rosalina. What kind of trials will he have to face for more Power Stars, find out next time. R and R and have a wonderful day!

FutureShock


	7. The All Seeing Eye

Chapter Seven: The All Seeing Eye

"Alright, let's see here." Trunks was following his scouter, heading in the location of the closest Power Stars. Unfortunately the only nearby Stars weren't as close by as he would have liked. And so he had to traverse through the deep expanse of the universe. The Saiyan wasn't sure how long he had been flying, but he guessed it was probably a day... maybe two. "According to my scouter I should be there... right about now." The half-Saiyan was now directly in front of a big orangish planet.

His aura flared as he went in for a landing. In just a few moments Trunks touched down upon the barren landscape. He glanced around and noticed he was in some kind of ruins. The only energies he could sense were very far away. _'Now let's see, the Stars should be over there.'_ He began walking towards the one structure that was still in good shape. It appeared to be a giant pyramid with the top part cut off. Leading up to the top was a giant staircase.

He leapt into the air and began flying up to the top of it. He only flew for about ten seconds before he was already at the top. On top of the giant structure was a pedestal, and on the pedestal were three Power Stars. Trunks took a moment to pause. So far he had to overcome some sort of obstacle to obtain the Stars. Yet here they were, laid out for him on a metaphorical silver platter.

"Well, it's a good thing I don't have to do anything for these." He chuckled. Right before he could grab them he heard a noise. Instinctively he reached for his sword and un-sheathed it. He turned around but didn't see anything. "Hm, I could have sworn I heard-"

Just then someone came flying in out of nowhere. They kicked the intruder in the face, sending him flying off of the temple. They watched as the man fell onto the ground with an audible thud. They jumped down onto the ground and noticed that the man was out cold. With a confident snicker they picked the man(and his sword) up and slung him over their shoulder. They then flew into the air.

* * *

Trunks' eyes slowly opened. His head hurt and he was still in a daze. The last thing he remembered was finding the Power Stars, and then there was that noise. He slowly stood up and found himself inside a cage. He quickly realized that both his sword, and scouter were gone. "Ugh... where am I?"

"Jail." A feminine voice answered.

The half-Saiyan looked over and saw a girl standing outside of the cell. She was about as tall as he was. She wore pretty basic brown clothing, including boots, pants, a short sleeved shirt, and an armband around her left arm. What stood out the most were the red symbols on her clothes, and also the white mask.

"You regained consciousness much faster than I expected."

"Why am I in jail?" Trunks asked harshly. "And where's my sword and scouter?"

The girl glared at the man. "The reason for your imprisonment was because you were trying to steal our offerings. As for your sword and that device we confiscated them."

"I wasn't trying to steal anything, I..." The half-Saiyan paused for a moment, technically he was 'stealing' the Power Stars. Then again, if they belonged to Rosalina that meant it wasn't technically stealing. "Look, I'm sorry I tried to take the Stars without your permission. I didn't know anyone was around so I..."

"So you decided just to steal them. We've dealt with brutes like you before, that's why we learned how to hide our power levels. That device on your head can track us can't it?"

Trunks nodded. "Yes, although I can sense power levels. I only need the scouter for locating Power Stars." He explained.

A chuckle escaped her mouth. "That's a pretty nifty device, I'm sure we'll be able to make use of it."

"So what now, you can't seriously keep me locked up forever."

"You will stay in jail until we decide what to do with you." She told her prisoner.

"You don't understand, I need those Stars!" Trunks yelled.

"Silence!" She shouted. "I don't care what reason you had for trying to take our offerings. The price for thievery is very high, especially on the eve of The Eye."

The half-Saiyan sighed, he would have to do things the hard way. "Alright, that's it." He clenched his fists. "If you won't let me out I'll just have to break myself out." A powerful shout escaped his mouth as he began powering up. A few moments later though he felt an intense pain coursing through his body. He fell to his knees in pain.

"Do you take us for fools? I told you we've dealt with brutes like you, that's why I attached a device to your neck that prevents you from using your powers." She then began walking out of the dungeon. "I'm off to discuss your punishment, don't go anywhere." She joked.

As soon as she was gone the half-Saiyan slammed his fists against the cell. He couldn't believe what happened. Everything was going fine, but then he just had to jinx himself. Now he was stuck in jail with no way out. To make matters worse he couldn't use his powers. So here he was, imprisoned for trying to do the right thing.

He then began to ponder what his next move should be. Obviously he needed to escape, but that seemed impossible at this point in time. _'If only I could remove this collar.'_ He tried to remove it but upon trying to do so it sent out an electrical shock. After recovering from the shock he slumped down onto the floor.

An idea then popped into his head. It was crazy, and perhaps a little stupid, but it was the only thing he could think of. The half-Saiyan stood up and brought his hands together, he then pointed them at the cage wall. A ball of ki slowly began to form within his palms. As he formed his attack he screamed out in pain. Despite his entire body hurting he did his best to ignore the pain. "Just a little... more..." The sphere of ki increased in size, and so too did the pain. Once it was large enough he unleashed the attack, firing it at the wall.

With a huge explosion the cage wall was blown apart, sending pieces of metal flying in all directions. There was now a gaping hole within the prison cell.

Trunks didn't have time to celebrate though, he was in too much pain. He stood there for a few seconds before collapsing on the floor.

* * *

"As I'm sure you're all aware, a stranger came to our planet and attempted to steal our offerings." The girl who had captured Trunks had gone to inform her tribe of the situation. As much as she wanted to just kill him she knew she couldn't. Any decisions were made as a tribe.

One man looked at his leader. "Why would someone do that Liana?"

"The man didn't say, but I can only assume the worst." Liana answered. "Now then, we have to decided what to do with him."

"I say we tie him up and throw him off of the temple!" A lady yelled, receiving mixed reactions.

After a slightly long pause the tribe leader spoke up. "That's not a bad idea... but perhaps we should explore all of our options."

Another man raised his hand. "How about we use his sword to chop him up?"

A girl shook her head. "Just what kind of message are you trying to send? We can't have our deity thinking we're nothing but wild savages!"

"Come on, he stole from us!" He yelled in defense. He then turned towards his leader. "You agree me with me, right Liana?"

Liana paused for a moment. "I agree that he deserves a harsh punishment... but that is a bit extreme."

The man crossed his arms in a huff.

"How about we put him in a catapult and launch him into the volcano?" Another woman suggested.

"Uh, the catapult doesn't work remember?" An older man pointed out.

The woman furrowed her brow. "Damn."

"Anyone else?" Liana looked around, but it seemed that no one had an idea. It was then that she noticed a tribe member in the back raising his hand. "You have an idea?"

"The answer is simple, we offer him as a sacrifice to the All Seeing Eye." He grinned.

After hearing that suggestion everyone in the room began murmuring. "That's a great idea."

"Yes, the Eye will be pleased."

"A fitting punishment for a thief."

"What do you think Liana?"

Liana put a hand to her chin. "We've never offered up a human sacrifice before... but I don't see any reason why we can't start now." She grinned. "Alright, it's settled. We'll let the All Seeing Eye punish that man!"

Her tribe erupted with cheers.

* * *

"Ugh..." Trunks' eyes slowly opened as he woke up from his unconscious state. He groggily got to his feet and leaned against the cage wall. The last thing he remembered was trying to blast the cage wall down. He could also remember the agonizing pain that came along with it. "Well, at least I was able to free myself." He chuckled lightly before wincing. The pain was still kind of fresh.

After taking a few moments to recuperate he began heading towards the exit. Along the way he began planning out his next move. The Saiyan needed to not only retrieve his sword and scouter, but more importantly the Power Stars. Removing the collar was also on his list.

Once he reached the exit to the prison he glanced outside, making sure the coast was clear. There was no one in sight, so he slowly walked out of the cave. He took a moment to survey his surroundings, taking note of everything around him. His observing was interrupted upon hearing footsteps from far away. Reacting quickly, he ran over to a nearby ruined wall and hid behind it.

Peaking out from above the wall he noticed the girl from earlier. _'Uh oh, this isn't good.'_ His situation was about to go from bad to worse. As soon as she discovered he was gone she would start looking for him. And then everyone else around would start looking for him as well. And without his powers he would have a very hard time fighting them off.

"WHAT?!"

 _'Here we go...'_ He watched as the girl ran out of the cave.

"How could he have escaped, that collar should have stripped him of his powers!" She yelled. "I've got to tell the others, we can't let that thief get away!"

As soon as she was gone the Saiyan sighed. He counted himself lucky that he could still suppress his power, then again, with his powers gone there probably wasn't much to sense anyway. While he may have gotten a small break for now he didn't have time to waste. The half-Saiyan once again peered out over the wall. "Let's see, they must have hidden my sword in one of these buildings... but which one?"

Just then he could hear multiple footsteps in the distance, meaning news of his escape had already spread. He was also lucky that he still had his better than average hearing, because he couldn't sense anyone... all thanks to the collar.

Realizing that he was running out of time he decided to pick a building at random. So, after picking one he quickly dashed around the wall, sprinting towards the closest ruined building. It took only a few seconds to reach his destination, and upon doing so he took a quick peek outside. When it became clear that he was safe he let out a sigh.

"So you're the escaped prisoner?"

Trunks tensed up and then slowly turned around. He soon found himself face to face with a tall, burly man. The man wore pretty much the same outfit as the girl, mask and all.

The man cracked his knuckles. "I don't know how you broke out but you're going back to where you belong."

Trunks took a brief moment to assess the situation. Obviously, he had no choice but to fight the man, but he wasn't sure if he could do it. He had no way of knowing how strong he was. Plus he didn't have his power, meaning he was probably about as strong as Mr. Satan. Despite all of that he stood firm. He knew how to fight, and he was sure, power or no, that he could win.

"What's wrong, scared to fight?"

"Not at all." The half-Saiyan got into his stance. "Come and get me."

The warrior let out a battle cry as he charged at the prisoner. When he was close enough he threw a punch, aimed straight for his opponent's face. To his surprise he missed, and only hit the air where his foe had been. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the prisoner grinning, and that made him mad. Without warning he spun around and tried to land a blow. His eyes went wide upon discovering his hand had been caught.

A smirk came onto Trunks' face as he swung his leg horizontally, sweeping his opponent's legs and making him fall to the ground. The half-Saiyan then threw a punch, aimed for his foe's face. Unfortunately his fist was caught. He was then promptly thrown backwards, landing harshly on the ground.

The warrior stood up and kicked the prisoner in his face, right as he was getting up. He then grabbed his foe by the collar and held him close to his face. Without warning he repeatedly hit his helpless opponent in the face, not letting up for a second. An evil laugh escaped his mouth as he continued his assault. "This is a lot of fun." He continued pummeling the prisoner for a few moments before picking him up and throwing him against the wall.

Trunks crashed against the wall and then fell onto his stomach. It took him a few moments to get back to his feet. As soon as he had his footing he took a few deep breathes. This was harder than he originally thought, but he wasn't about to give up. After spitting some blood out of his mouth he was ready for the second round.

"Oh you want some more huh? Well, bring it on!" The burly man dashed towards his foe.

Reacting quickly the half-Saiyan jumped into the air. Right as his opponent closed the gap Trunks kicked him square in the nose, launching him backwards. Upon landing on the ground he quickly ran over to his fallen foe. He wasn't about to let him get up, so he once again kicked him in the face.

After a few seconds the man started getting up, albeit with some effort. Those kicks really hurt. He wiped the blood off his face and grit his teeth. A furious roar escaped his mouth as he charged at the prisoner. He reeled his fist back, ready to knock his enemy's head off. Before he could even attempt to land a blow he received a painful punch to the gut, stopping all of his momentum. His head slowly turned towards the prisoner, who was grinning like a madman.

Trunks dislodged his fist and then did a back flip, hitting his foe right in the chin. As he landed on the ground he noticed his attack had sent the burly man flying into the wall. He watched as rubble fell onto the fallen man. He waited for a few seconds to see if his opponent would get back up, but he didn't. "That takes care of him." The Saiyan noted.

With the fight over he took a moment to breath. _'Fighting without my powers is rough, I can't wait to get this stupid collar off.'_ He stood there for a few seconds before heading deeper into the ruined building.

"There he is!"

Hearing that familiar voice made the Saiyan tense up. He slowly turned around and saw not only the girl, but several other people. Trunks was in a bad situation. Fighting that one guy was tough enough, and he wasn't sure if he could fight all of them off. The thought of running crossed his mind, but he figured that would only prolong the inevitable. So he merely put his hands up in defense.

"You're a lot tougher than I thought. Not only did you escape from jail but you managed to defeat one of our finest warriors." Liana spoke as she and her tribe walked over to the prisoner.

"I don't want any trouble, just take his collar off me and I'll leave." The half-Saiyan said before his hands were grabbed placed behind his back.

Liana laughed. "Sorry, but thievery is an unforgivable crime. Besides, we need you for the sacrifice."

Trunks gulped. "Sacrifice?"

"Yep. Along with those Stars we're also offering you to the All Seeing Eye. You should feel honored, you'll be the first human sacrifice."

"You can't do this!" He protested.

The girl slapped him across the face. "Silence thief. You sealed your fate when you tried to steal from us, and now you must face the consequences." She told him. "Take him to the alter, the Eye will be arriving soon."

* * *

"Members of the Tribe of the All Seeing Eye, I welcome you to what will be the greatest ceremony we've ever had!" Liana shouted from atop the alter. "For today, we have our first ever human sacrifice!"

The entire tribe roared with cheers.

Trunks had been chained to the same place where the Power Stars were. He tried to break free but it was impossible. "You're crazy, you can't offer me up as a sacrifice!"

"I'm the leader of this tribe, and what I say goes." She told him before diverting her attention back to her tribe. "Now then, let the ceremony begin!" With the speech given she began walking down the stairs of the temple.

Once she was gone the half-Saiyan tried to break free again. As much as he struggled he was unable to free himself. He didn't know what was going to happen to him during the sacrifice, but he had a feeling it would be bad. _'Come on Trunks, there has to be a way out!'_ He then heard some strange chanting coming from his captors, and that made him worry even more.

He tried powering up, but as expected he received a painful shock. "If I could only get this collar... off... wait, that's it!" An idea suddenly came into his head. "Luma! Luma, are you there?"

There was a brief moment of pause. "Yes, I'm here." The star creature spoke.

Trunks sighed in relief. "Great. Look, we don't have much time. I need you outside my body." A second later he saw Luma fly out of his body and float in front of him. "Alright, now I need you to see if you can get this collar off of me."

Luma flew to his friend's neck and inspected the collar. He made several rotations around the Saiyan before stopping in front of his face.

"So..."

"I don't think I can get it off."

"There wasn't a button, or some kind of switch?" He received a head shake no. "Damn, now what?" The half-Saiyan glanced around and noticed several stones and rock chunks, giving him yet another idea. "Okay, Luma, do you think you can grab one of those big stones over there?"

Luma flew over and tried to grab one of the stones. At first he didn't look like he would be able to pick it up. After a few moments Luma was able to lift the big stone.

A big grin came onto Trunks' face. "Great, now I want you to smash it against this collar." Just then he felt a rumbling, and he could hear the chanting getting louder. "Hurry Luma there isn't much time!" He yelled.

With a little bit of effort Luma flew up to his friend's neck and smashed the stone against the collar. The piece of stone broke on contact. Moments later sparks began to shoot out of the collar and then it exploded.

As the pieces fell to the ground the half-Saiyan cheered. "Alright! Thanks Luma, that's all I needed."

Luma smiled before flying into the Saiyan.

Now that the stupid device was broken Trunks was ready. Slowly but surely he could feel his power return to him, and it was a great feeling. With a slight pull he was able rip the chains out of the ground. He then stood up and broke them off of his wrist. Now that he was free he walked over to the alter and touched the Power Stars, returning them to Rosalina.

"WHO DARES TAKE AWAY MY OFFERINGS?!"

Trunks glanced up at the sky and noticed a gigantic floating eyeball heading his way. The half-Saiyan wasn't quite sure how to react. Sure, he had heard them talk about an 'All Seeing Eye'... but he wasn't expecting this.

The eye then diverted its attention towards the tribe that worshiped it. "WHAT IS THIS STRANGER DOING ON THE SACRED ALTER?!"

Liana started trembling. "W-we were going to o-offer him up as a sacrifice, in order to please you." She explained.

"THEN WHY IS HE NOT RESTRAINED?"

"My lord we did restrain... him..." She looked up and noticed the thief standing on the temple. She had been so distracted with the ceremony that she didn't even realize he had escaped. "My apologies my lord, we..."

"SILENCE!" The eye shouted. "YOU HAVE DISRESPECTED MY RETURN, YOU HAVE FAILED TO APPEASE ME!"

If the tribe wasn't scared before, they were now.

"Please, forgive us, we never meant to shame you." The tribe leader spoke,

"I HAVE HEARD ENOUGH EXCUSES. NOW YOU MUST ALL BE PUNISHED!" Suddenly the eye began to glow a fiery red. It was preparing to vaporize all of the infidels. Before it could fire off the beam it felt something hit it from behind. "WHAT MORTAL DARES ATTACK ME?!" It turned around and saw the stranger.

Trunks grinned as he drew back his hand. "That would be me." Although he wasn't happy about getting sacrificed he wasn't about to let all of those people die. So, he ignored his anger and decided to help the scared tribe.

"FOOL, YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" It then fired a huge red beam at the stranger, intent on killing him. The beam hit the man and created a big boom. The eye seemed satisfied with that and once again turned towards the tribe. It once again charged up a beam.

"Hey, over here!"

The eye tried to locate the voice but couldn't. It then got a surprise as the man it had supposedly killed was floating right in front of it. "WHAT?"

"That little move of yours was impressive, but it wasn't strong enough to take me down." While it was hard to tell he could see the eye starting to panic. "Look, you can either leave now and never come back... or, I could kill you. It's your choice." Trunks couldn't believe he was saying this to a supposedly all powerful deity.

"HAHAHA! I AM THE ALL SEEING EYE, I WILL NEVER SURRENDER TO A MERE MORTAL!"

A sigh escaped Trunks' mouth. "I tried to end this peacefully." He muttered before holding his hands out in front of him. He then unleashed a huge wave of energy, swallowing the giant eyeball whole.

After a few moments, and some horrifying shrieking, the All Seeing Eye had been killed.

The tribe stared on with wide eyes at the display. Their deity had just been killed, and it looked like the thief hadn't even put any effort into the attack.

Trunks then landed in front of the tribe leader.

"You... you killed our deity!" Liana yelled.

"Yeah, but that giant eye was about to kill you all. I saved your lives!" The half-Saiyan yelled.

Sure, their deity was going to kill them, but to be fair they did disrespect it by not keeping a better eye on the prisoner. "How dare you! All you've done is make things worse for our tribe. Your presence has brought nothing but darkness to us!"

"Okay that's it." The half-Saiyan grunted before powering up. Moving faster than they could see he knocked each of them out. Once they were all unconscious he sighed. "Something is wrong with these people, and I'd better get off this planet sooner rather than later."

A white aura enveloped his body as he flew into the air. He then began the search for his sword and scouter. There was no way he was going to leave without either of those. So he entered each ruined building, and when he didn't find them he would go to the next.

Eventually he made his way into what looked like some kind of meeting place. There was a big table with several chairs on each side. Sitting on top of the shelf above the back end of the table were his possessions. A smile came onto his face as he flew over to his items. After securing his sheath to his body, and putting the scouter back on, he exited the building.

"Alright, time to get back to it." With the push of the button his scouter began locating the nearest Power Stars. After a few moments a small cluster of dots appeared on the screen. "Well, at least they aren't too far from here."

With his next destination selected Trunks took off into space. He felt kind of bad for how things had gone down on the planet. Yet, there was nothing he really could have done. So, he only hoped that things go well on the next planet.

* * *

That's a rap everyone, thank you all for reading. So we got to see Trunks do things without his powers, and also fight someone. Yeah the All Seeing Eye came to me while playing Zelda, I saw the Mask of Truth and well... you know. This was also a bit of a change of pace from what happened the last couple of times. instead of befriending the local populace and solving a problem, he was kidnapped and offered up as a sacrifice. Plus we got to see Luma help him out. That's all for now, be sure to R&R and have a fantastic day!

FutureShock


	8. Lethal Lava Land

Chapter Eight: Lethal Lava Land

So far, Trunks has had pretty much been having good luck. Sure, his most recent quest for a few Power Stars was a bit of a hassle, but it wasn't all that bad. Even if he had his powers temporarily taken away he still managed to get the Power Stars. And although he didn't leave the best impression on the villagers he was still making progress on his mission.

That progress, however, was about to come to a screeching halt. As soon as the next planet came into view the half-Saiyan started getting nervous. From up in space he could see nothing but searing hot lava, as well as several volcanoes. And as much as he didn't want to believe it his scouter was working perfectly.

"Oh great, I have to go down there?" He asked to no one, all the while sighing deeply.

Naturally, due to him being a Saiyan and thanks to his intense training he could survive in extreme conditions... but he wasn't so sure about a volcanic planet filled with lava! It just seemed like a really bad idea. Yet he didn't have much of a choice.

There was a Power Star somewhere down there, and he had to find it. He wasn't sure how many he needed to collect, but he assumed it was all of them. And besides, what would an adventure be without some peril? Well... it would be an easy adventure, but fate wasn't going to take it easy on the Saiyan.

"I really wish I had that spacesuit right about now." He mumbled to himself.

Trunks then took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what awaited him. After a few seconds that he was ready.

With slight hesitation he began descending closer to the volcanic planet. Upon entering the atmosphere he could start feeling the intense heat. It reminded him of his time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, except it was going to constantly be hot. Despite that he pushed the extreme heat from his mind. The half-Saiyan didn't need anything distracting him from his mission.

He was now flying several yards above the planet's surface, if one could call it that. So far he had seen nothing but lava. Lava and volcanoes. Surely there had to be a few places of solid ground, because there was no way he was going into that searing hot lava.

Eventually he came across a somewhat large patch of land. It was nothing more than a big square made of rock, but that was all he needed. After testing to make sure it wasn't going to sink with weight applied he landed upon the surface.

Beeping sounds broke up the silence of the planet as Trunks searched for the exact locations of the Power Stars. A few moments later his scouter had picked up the location. And to Trunks' horror they appeared to be deeper in the planet. That meant he had to somehow go through the lava to get it. He had trouble swimming in water as it was, and now he had to do the same in fire?!

"What am I going to do now?!" He asked while wiping his brow. The situation was indeed puzzling, and he had no idea how to go about doing this. Sure, he could create a barrier around himself, but he wasn't sure how long he could sustain it in such heat.

It was then that he sensed other beings on the planet. They were all gathered not too far from his current location. He figured it was both the heat, and the fact that he had to swim in lava that distracted him.

Curious, he flew over towards the multiple energy signatures. A white aura enveloped his body as he increased his speed. While flying he could feel the heat even more, making him sweat profusely. Once again he ignored the heat, intent on finishing things up as quickly as possible.

A few seconds later the half-Saiyan arrived at some kind of space ship. He could see some people wearing big suits, most likely protecting them from the intense conditions of the planet. One of those people was carrying some kind of arm cannon, and it was aimed at one of the others.

"Quit stalling and get searching!" The man with the arm cannon exclaimed.

"B-but... these suits can only withstand the lava for a short time, a-and we don't know where the Stars are exactly."

"Maybe you could lend us one of those devices to search for..." She was cut off by a laser zooming past her head.

"Yeah right, and then you'll just destroy our scouters and screw our operation over." The threatening man laughed briefly before suddenly stopping. "Now move or one of you dies!"

At that moment Trunks had heard enough. He could tell that the man with the arm cannon was using those poor people to get the Power Stars for him. Well, the half-Saiyan wasn't going to let that happen. "HEY!"

All three heads turned towards the source of the yell, and they saw a man(without any protection) floating several yards away from them.

"You'd better leave these people alone."

"Or what?" The man asked with a chuckle.

Trunks narrowed his eyes. "Or else I'm going to have to hurt you."

In response the man laughed, much harder than before. "You hurt me?! Please, my scouter indicates you have a pitiful power level. I won't even have to use any effort." He then pointed his arm cannon at the stupid stranger. "Say goodbye punk." In an instant he fired a beam at the stranger, hitting him dead on. He then laughed in triumph, that was yet another easy victory.

The other two gasped in horror. Just when it looked they were going to be saved, their only help died. Now there was nothing they could do.

" _That_ , is what will happen to you two if you don-" The man had abruptly stopped his sentence, now feeling a sharp pain in his gut. His eyes widened in shock as he saw that the stranger not only survived, but struck him faster than he could see.

As Trunks dislodged his fist he watched the brute fall to the ground, unable to move. "I tried to spare him." He then turned towards the other two. "Are you two alright?"

They each nodded slowly. A bit of an awkward silence washed over the three of them. The tension was broken up by the woman. "Who are you, and where did you come from?"

"I'm Trunks, and I... I..." His breathes started getting heavier. Sweat was dripping down his skin, much greater than before.

"We have to get him inside, his body won't be able to withstand the heat for much longer." The not unconscious man stated as he ran over to Trunks.

She followed his lead. "But what about those other aliens?"

"Trunks can probably take care of them, just like he did with this one." It didn't seem like too much of a stretch to assume that that was a plausibility.

Both of them were working together to get the Saiyan inside their ship. Luckily it wasn't too much of a walk. Once they reached the ship they gasped upon seeing the rest of the aliens, and they didn't look happy.

"What's going on out here?!" One demanded.

"Hey look!" Another pointed at their fallen comrade.

The final one instantly pointed her cannon at the trio. "I told you we couldn't trust them."

As the two started freaking out Trunks freed himself from their assistance. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He told them. Even if he was feeling weary he would still fight if need be.

"Ooh, we're so scared." The tall one joked, getting a laugh from his allies.

The Saiyan took a deep breath before charging at the trio. In an instant he was in front of the tall one, and a single punch to the jaw sent him flying into a nearby pool of lava. Trunks did his best to ignore the screams of agony.

"H-how?" The woman asked in pure disbelief. Before she could react her other partner was taken down just as quickly, except he was lucky enough not to land in the lava.

With two of them down the half-Saiyan turned towards the woman. "I'll give you one last chance, surrender now or end up like your friends!"

After briefly weighing her she flew off into space, not wanting to end up like her comrades. Even if they were in the same squad that didn't mean she cared about either of them. She was more interested in saving herself. Besides, she could always come back with reinforcements.

Trunks was actually surprised that she fled instead of trying to fight. He didn't want to have to kill her like the others. He then turned back towards the people he had saved. And right as he faced them he collapsed on the ground, having finally succumbed to the intense heat.

* * *

Trunks' eyes opened slowly, and his vision was slowly coming back to him. As he regained sight he took notice of where he was. Instead of finding himself lying on a flat rock, most likely next to a 'fiery sea', he was in some kind of room. He was a little surprised to find himself inside a room, as well as lying in a comfortable bed.

The only reason he didn't get up right away was because of some kind of small oval shaped dome. It covered the entire length of the bed. At first he didn't know what the purpose was, but the half-Saiyan quickly realized how cold it was. So he only assumed that the bed was used for cooling off.

After taking a few moments to enjoy the coolness and regain his senses he pushed a button on the wall next to him, forcing the door upwards. With that done he sat up and stretched his stiff muscles, hearing a few bones crack in his back. To his left he could see his scouter on the nearby nightstand, and his sword was leaning up against the adjacent wall.

He stood up and grabbed his scouter, placing it back onto his head. Walking a few inches forward he picked up his sword and strapped it onto his back. With his gear back on he started thinking about his next move. The Saiyan didn't get too much time to ponder as a woman walked into the room.

She was on the shorter side, coming up to Trunks' chest. She had light teal skin, and long flowing white hair. She had soft facial features, most notably the big blue eyes. She was wearing some kind of purple jumpsuit, complete with black gloves and boots. "Oh, you're up." She smiled. "I was just coming in to check on you."

Both the voice, and the ki signature told Trunks that this was the same girl as before. "Yeah, I just woke up. So where am I, and who are you?"

"I'm Sarah, and you're on board my husband and mine's ship." She explained with a smile.

That didn't explain how he got there though, but he had a wild guess. "Why did you bring me inside?"

In response Sarah chuckled lightly. "First of all, you saved us from those evil aliens. Second, you would have died if we didn't get you in here."

He couldn't really argue with that logic, so he just smiled at the woman. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Now come on, you have to meet my husband." She motioned for him to follow as she entered the hallway.

Trunks followed her out of the room.

The two of them made their way through the white halls of the ship, passing by several side-doors along the way. The hallway itself wasn't very long, and it eventually led into an open room. Inside the room were two chairs, each one in front of a big control console. At the very front was a giant window, which led the Saiyan to believe that this was the front of the ship.

"Honey, the man who saved us is awake."

Standing up from one of the chairs was a tall man, slightly taller than Trunks. He had pale skin, short brown hair, and a thick goatee. An eye patch covered his left eye, and there was a scar going down his right eye. Not only was he tall but he also had a pretty muscular build. He was wearing the same outfit as his wife. Despite his gruff appearance he had a smile on his face.

"Hello there, I'm Trunks." The Saiyan introduced as he walked forward, extending his hand as he did so.

The man grabbed the hero's hand and gripped it firmly. "You can call me Ed." He said as he retracted his hand. "Trunks, my wife and I owe you big time. If it weren't for you those thugs would have killed us!"

At this point Sarah was standing next to her husband.

"Don't mention it."

"So tell me, what were you doing out there without a suit?" Ed questioned.

"Well, you see..." He was interrupted by a dinging sound.

Sarah's eyes lit up. "Ooh, the meatloaf's done!" She then ran out of the room towards the kitchen.

"Listen, since you saved us, how about you join us for dinner?" The man offered.

"No I couldn't."

Ed laughed in response. "Don't be silly, you saved us. The least we could do is offer you some food."

Before the half-Saiyan could protest he heard his stomach rumbling. It had been a while since he had eaten. And even though he was 'on the job' he saw no harm in taking a small break. "Sure, thank you."

* * *

Ed, Sarah, and Trunks were all gathered in the dinning room. The Saiyan was seated at large rectangular table while the couple finished putting the food on the table. There was indeed meatloaf, but there was also a big mound of mashed potatoes... and a little bit of corn. Once everything was ready they all sat at the table.

They then began to dish themselves. "So Trunks," Ed began as he grabbed a piece of meatloaf. "what were you doing on this planet without a protective suit?" He asked once again.

Trunks took a break from filling his plate to answer. "It's kind of a long story." And so he began to explain everything that happened in recent weeks. He told them about Rosalina and the Lumas, the Comet Observatory, and his mission to retrieve the lost Power Stars. "...And that's basically it."

Both Ed and Sarah stared at him with wide eyes. They had never expected that this stranger was some kind of intergalactic hero, tasked with saving what was essentially a powerful deity of the universe. After a few seconds of silence the man spoke up. "I see... that certainly is an incredible story."

"Hm, but what about those aliens who hijacked our ship. They also talked about finding the Power Stars."

A sigh escaped the Saiyan's mouth. "I'm not sure. They must be working for whoever is rebuilding Frieza's empire."

"They did mention something about some guy named Plum, he must be the leader." Ed concluded.

 _'So the guy's name is Plum... huh, what an odd name.'_ Despite the odd name Trunks was thankful he finally had the identity of the leader. He still had no idea where this new empire was, but at least he knew who was in charge.

It was then that Trunks processed what Sarah had said. "Wait, they hijacked your ship?"

They both nodded. "My wife and I were out here doing some research on this planet, due to all of the strange anomalies that have been reported. As we prepared to do our research we came across those four thugs. They found out we had special suits that could withstand extreme heat, so they wanted us to get the Power Stars for them."

"As much as we didn't want to we had no choice, they were all stronger than us. When they wanted us to navigate the lava without using their tracking devices we told them that it was extremely dangerous. That's when they threatened to kill us." The teal skinned woman explained.

"And that's when you showed up." Ed finished.

"Just how long can these suits last in the lava?"

"About ten minutes," Sarah explained. "but as you can imagine, it would take a long time to traverse the fiery seas without a guide."

Trunks took a moment to let this information soak. It appeared that he had his solution for getting the dangerously located Stars. Even if he only had ten minutes he was sure he could make it in time. Not only did he have a scouter, but he was also fast. And while he may not be the best swimmer he was sure that it wouldn't be a problem. "How about we help each other out?"

"What do you mean?" The scarred man questioned.

"Well, if you lend me one of your suits I can help you with your research. And at the same time I can recover the Power Stars."

Sarah now had a face of worry. "I don't know, it seems dangerous." When she and her husband decided to go study Planet Vanik, she didn't think much of it. Obviously it was going to be dangerous, but that didn't worry her. Yet when you're actually on the planet, about to go into the lava, it seemed even scarier.

"Don't worry, I've been in plenty of dangerous situations before." The half-Saiyan stated with a slight smirk.

Ed turned towards the man. "You can count me in."

This of course worried the woman further. "Honey you don't have to..."

"Don't worry Sarah, we'll be fine. I promise." He told her with a determined look.

She nodded at the look before standing up. "Okay, just don't do anything reckless."

Ed stood up as well and walked over to his wife. "You know me." He joked before picking her up and engaging in a kiss.

Ignoring the private moment the half-Saiyan concentrated on his food. In practically no time at all he finished not only what was on his plate, but also the second helping. Glancing up revealed that they were still kissing, so he grabbed even more food.

A few seconds later they realized that their guest was still at the table. "Oh sorry, my husband and I aren't used to having other people on our ship." She told him as she was placed down onto the floor.

"It's fine." Trunks assured with a sheepish grin, trying to avoid talking about it further.

The scarred man then noticed that most of the food had been consumed already. "Boy you have some appetite." He laughed. "When you finish up come meet me in the supply room. We'll get you fitted for a suit."

Trunks nodded before returning to his meal. There was no point in going on a dangerous mission on an empty stomach.

* * *

"Now keep in mind, these suits will protect you against the lava and the heat, but you still have to be careful."

Trunks had just finished putting on his protective suit, minus the helmet. Unfortunately he couldn't wear it and his sword at the same time, so he left his weapon on the ship. "Right." He said as he dawned his helmet, which was just big enough to fit with his scouter still on.

The two were standing at the entrance of the ship, ready to get the adventure over with. The sooner they found the Power Stars the better.

Standing by was Sarah, and she was there to see the two men off. "Be careful out there darling, I don't want you to die out there."

He smiled as he grabbed his wife and hugged her tightly. "Don't worry, I'll be back."

In order to further help her mind at ease Trunks turned towards her. "You have my word that he'll be fine."

They stopped hugging and Sarah looked at the Saiyan with kind eyes. "Thank you Trunks."

"We should get moving." Ed told him as he pushed a button, opening the hatch and allowing them to leave. He then made his way down the ramp.

The half-Saiyan nodded as he followed the man off of the safety of the ship. Once they were both off the door was shut behind them. Now they were ready to begin the mission.

Standing outside, the two men stared off into what awaited them. Their eyes didn't move away from the 'fiery sea'. Even though they had special suits to keep them safe there was still a lingering nervousness. Anything could happen out there, and if they weren't careful they could wind up being burned alive!

"Come on," Ed began as he moved closer to the surface's edge. "the sooner we get this done the better." He then dove into the lava, much like a swimmer going into water.

Trunks took several steps before stopping right at the edge. His eyes drifted down into the pool of searing fire. After taking a deep breath he jumped into the lava. The Saiyan began plummeting deeper into the lava before he steadied himself.

His eyes went partially wide as he took in his surroundings... although there wasn't much to take in. All he could really see was lava, lots and lots of lava. It was certainly a nice contrast to the ocean he had to swim through not too long ago. If it weren't for the fact that he could die he kind of enjoyed this a little. How often does one get to swim in molten lava?

"If you're done goofing off how about we get a move on?"

Hearing the voice on his communicator(which was given to him by Ed), and seeing his partner floating next to him, snapped the half-Saiyan out of his thoughts. "Right, sorry." He apologized.

"So where exactly are we going?" The scarred man questioned.

"Down and to the left, just follow me."

Now with a sense of direction the two began to swim deeper into fiery depths. Luckily, if one could say that, there weren't too many dangers deep down. Unlike an actual ocean, which is filled with tons of sea life, a good amount of which are dangerous, there was nothing of the sort where they were. It was all just lava.

A slight smile came onto Trunks' face as he and his partner came closer and closer to the Power Star. It would seem that this was going to be easier than he thought. If everything else went well, then he and Ed would be back on the surface in no time.

"How much further?" Ed asked, his voice ringing through his partner's headset.

"We're getting close, it should only be another minute or two."

After a brief period of time the duo had reached the supposed location of the Power Stars... except something was wrong. "Huh, this is weird."

"What is it?" The scarred man questioned.

"My scouter says that the Stars are right in front of us, but they clearly aren't." He answered.

Ed put a hand to his chin. "So what, is that thing busted?"

Not wanting to believe that theory Trunks held out his hand. He had a crazy idea, and wanted to test it out. Something happened though, something that really surprised him. With his gloved hand he could feel something solid. So far his hands have only come in contact with the lava and nothing else.

Moving his hand left and right revealed even more solid surface. It was as if there was some kind of wall, but why, and how? The half-Saiayn didn't know what to make of this, and certainly wasn't sure how he should proceed.

"Hey!" Ed yelled, getting the Saiyan's attention. "Did you figure this out or what?"

"There's definitely something down here, let me just..." Suddenly his hand hit a button, and he instantly jumped in surprise.

A few moments later and a set of doors opened up, revealing a small metal hallway of sorts. On the other side was yet another set of doors.

Curious, the two swam into room as it was slowly filling with lava. As soon as they set foot inside the door behind them closed, and the lava that had entered with them was now draining. Both men had their guards up as the second door slowly opened.

Trunks and Ed exchanged uneasy glances, unsure if they should continue further. Unfortunately for them the way back had been sealed off, so there was only one way to go. Besides, it was probably much safer inside some underground bunker than in the 'fiery sea'.

Their eyes went wide as they stepped into the large square room. On the far back wall was a giant monitor, which seemed to have been cracked slightly. Several computers and other electronic devices were also present within the room. They too also appeared to be broken, some more so than others. Papers scattered across the floor, chairs and tables damaged, and a cup of coffee that appeared to have been made a _long_ time ago.

"What is this place?" The Saiyan asked, still in shock by all of this.

"It seems like some kind of research station, but what the hell is it doing down here? And why is it invisible from the outside?"

"And if this was a research station, where is everyone?"

There were plenty of questions, but not many answers. Yet, the mysterious station wasn't on the top of their priority list. They still had yet to find the Power Stars.

"According to my scouter the Power Stars are in the next room over." He pointed to a door on the left of the giant screen.

Both men began walking towards the still partially intact door. Although it looked in tact the door itself was pretty flimsy. A good push was all that was needed to send it flying to the ground. As they walked into the new room they caught sight of something strange.

The only things in the room were a table with a journal on top of it, and two triangular shaped objects, one on the floor and one on the sealing. Shooting out from each triangle was a bright red beam, and those beams were suspending something in place. Floating in the center of it all were two Power Stars.

"Finally!" Trunks exclaimed as he ran over to his prize.

Ed was more skeptical of all of this. There was something odd happening here. As he moved closer to his partner his eyes caught sight of the journal. Feeling curious he decided to pick it up and start reading.

Paying no mind to what his partner was doing the half-Saiyan stared at the two Stars. He tried to simply grab them but he just couldn't. The beams must have been creating a force field protecting the two celestial objects. Well, if he couldn't grab them, he would have to destroy the barrier. He took a few steps back and aimed his palm at the top triangle. A few moments later a small orb of energy shot from his palm, obliterating the target upon impact.

"Huh, now this is interesting. Apparently these researches used the Power Stars to keep this place running."

By the time Trunks had touched the Stars and sent them back to Rosalina his mind had processed what Ed had just said. "Wait what?"

 **WARING! WARNING! POWER STARS HAVE BEEN REMOVED. SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE IS NOW ACTIVE. TWO MINUTES UNTIL CORE EXPLOSION.**

The two men looked over to each other as flashing red lights went off, being accompanied by loud sirens.

"I guess this is why this place is abandoned."

An awkward silence fell over the duo. That silence was then broken up. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ed screamed as fear started washing over him. "What do we do?!"

"Ed relax!" Trunks yelled, hoping to calm him down.

"We're gonna die we're gonna die we're gonna die!"

A groan escaped the Saiyan's mouth, it appeared that he had to do everything himself. Instinct took over and he dropped down into a stance. He thrust his arms towards the ceiling and unleashed a huge beam of energy, creating a big hole in the station. Ignoring the new lavafall Trunks ran over and grabbed the panicking man. He held him close and looked over to him. "Hang on tight."

Before the scarred man could protest he suddenly found himself flying through the air at high speeds. Screams of pure terror escaped him as he was taken for a ride. In all his life the only flying he did was through space, and that wasn't as nearly as fast paced or scary as it was now. Clearly this was going to be his last time doing anything like this.

As for Trunks he was just concerned with getting the hell out of there. So he spared no expense and flew as quickly as he could. Had they been swimming as before, they wouldn't have been able to make it back to the ship in time. Luckily, the half-Saiyan was a much faster flyer, and thus the return trip didn't take nearly as long.

Eventually the duo exited the 'fiery sea', now grateful to be seeing land again. They didn't have time for a celebration though. The underlava station was still rigged to blow, and the planet would surely be destroyed in the process.

The Saiyan landed on the ground and ran towards the ship with Ed in tow. In a few seconds they were already at the front entrance. "How do we open this thing?" While he could have easily made his own entrance he didn't really want to. Plus that would have made escaping more complicated.

"Like this." He removed his right glove revealing some kind of watch. He pushed a few buttons on the device and the hatch opened up, allowing them to enter. And then, as quickly as he could, Ed bolted into his ship.

Trunks followed in afterwords.

Sarah had been doing some sweeping in the control room, making sure that everything was nice and tidy. She hummed a small tune as she worked, finding slight enjoyment out of such a mundane task. She was so in her own world that she failed to notice her husband and Trunks barge into the room.

"Honey quick!"

"Oh you two are back, how did it go?"

"There's no time, we have to get out of here now!" Ed shouted as he sat down and prepared the ship for take off.

Not needing to be told twice Sarah joined her husband and took her seat.

Trunks watched as the two effortlessly moved their hands across the control panels. He smiled before feeling the planet rumble slightly, The clock was ticking down. "How long until we take off?" His answer came in the form of a loud boom.

Due to there being only two seats the Saiyan was forced to stand up, and was promptly thrown back against the wall as a result of take off. He figured that they would hightail it out of there, but he didn't expect to go that fast. Even though he had been thrown against the wall it didn't hurt all that much. The important thing was that the ship had successfully escaped the planet, right before it exploded.

The planet remained floating in the void of space, as it normally did. That changed however when the massive research station blew up. The explosion created a chain reaction, causing the core of the planet to go as well. And once the core was gone the entire planet burst. Rock chunks and lava went flying everywhere, spreading out across the space where the planet used to be.

* * *

After getting a safe distance away from the oncoming explosion Ed and Sarah set a course for the nearest planet. They figured dropping Trunks off somewhere safe was the least they could for him. He had saved their lives twice.

All of that was after telling the woman about what happened on their journey. Sarah had been horrified to learn that her husband had almost died in a fiery explosion. If it were him by himself he most certainly would have. She made him promise that he would never do anything that reckless again. There was a small bright side though, in that her husband had 'borrowed' a journal left behind by the crew. It contained all kinds of facts and research on Vanick, as well as a few other planets. It certainly was a great find.

They kept flying for a little while before finally reaching a planet. The ship's momentum slowed down as it entered the atmosphere, to ensure there would be no crash landings. As the vessel lowered itself a huge city could be made out in the distance, and it looked pretty lively. The ship was set to land outside of the city, at an available landing platform.

As soon as the vessel landed Trunks was ready to go. He was already standing on the ramp that allowed him to leave. "Well, this is goodbye."

Ed grabbed the man's hand and shook it vigorously. "We can't thank you enough Trunks. If it weren't for you my wife and I would've been caught in the blast, and then where would we be?" He asked, all the while chuckling.

Sarah ignored his little joke, if one could call it that. "Yes, we owe you a whole lot." She stated with a smile.

"Don't mention it, but I should be thanking you. If it wasn't for your suits I wouldn't have been able to obtain the Power Stars." He then began walking down the ramp. "Goodbye."

"Good luck Trunks!" The woman yelled.

"If you ever need any help just let us know!"

Trunks turned towards them and smiled before continuing onward. Before going on to his next destination he wanted to go check out the city. He figured that it would be good to pick up some provisions for his journey. Some food, water, or anything else he may or may not need.

As he walked forward he could sense several power levels, _way_ off in the distance. Yet he didn't think about them too much... for now anyway.

* * *

That's the end of that chapter. I apologize for the gap between chapters. Procrastination and writers block can be a bad combination. Still, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The title is a nod to Super Mario 64, and that most likely won't be the only thing we see from that game. Just who are these people coming towards the planet, stay tuned to find out! R&R!

FutureShock


	9. Questions and Answers

Chapter Nine: Questions and Answers

"How long until we reach the planet's surface?" A man with a deep voice asked.

A small, orange skinned, plump alien turned towards his squad leader. "About five minutes, Captian Papaya."

"Good." Papaya said as he reclined in his chair slightly. Captain Papaya and his small crew had been sent to planet Largesse to gather supplies, and there had also been rumors of Power Stars being sold there. The planet was a big hub world, mostly known for trading. You could find anything you need on Largesse, so long as you have money of course.

"Sir, our scanners have detected a large power level on the planet's surface." Reported a lady with yellow skin and long white hair.

Papaya turned towards her. "How big is it?"

"I'd say it's about as large as yours, maybe even bigger." She told him in shock.

"Very interesting." The captain noted as he put a hand to his chin. "Whoever that is could make a nice addition to our armies."

Another man, this one looking similar to the woman, gave his commander a questioning look. "But we don't know who, or what is down there. What if they're one of those do-gooders and tries to fight us?"

The others nodded in agreement. They weren't disagreeing with their captain, they just didn't have enough information on the mystery power.

"Well we'll just have to wait and see won't we?" A small laugh then escaped his mouth. "When we reach the planet we'll pay this person a visit. If he's willing to join us then we'll let him, however, if he tries to fight us then we'll show him the power of Lord Plum's elites!" He bellowed to his crew.

Soon enough the entire ship was filled with evil laughter.

* * *

Trunks wandered around the bustling city with no clear direction in mind. After all, he had just barely escaped a planetary explosion, so he figured he would take a moment to relax and not worry about his mission. Although the city couldn't really be considered relaxing. It was bustling with life, and the streets were filled with all kinds of people and strange alien life forms.

The Saiyan wasn't too worried though. He could tell that no one was even close to his power level, so even if someone did try something he could handle it. Not that he expected anyone to start a fight or try and rob him. While he could sense some less than friendly ki signatures, he knew they weren't really a threat.

As he walked he could feel his stomach rumbling. The meal he had with Ed and Sarah was good, but not enough to fill him up. Sure, since he was only half Saiyan his appetite wasn't nearly as bad as his father's, but he still needed much more than the average person. Unfortunately he didn't have any money on him, so getting a meal was out of the question.

"Psst, hey buddy."

Trunks stopped and turned towards his left to see a fish like alien standing behind a booth. Curious as to what he wanted the Saiyan wandered over to him.

"I couldn't help but notice what a nice sword you have there." He said in a slimy voice.

"Sorry, but this sword isn't for sale." Although he needed money for food he wasn't about to give away his sword to some stranger. Especially because this sword was the only thing he had left to remember Gohan by, well not the only thing, but the sentimental value was far greater than anything else.

Despite receiving a no the vendor wasn't about to give up. "Oh really? What if I were to offer something in return." He ducked down and started rummaging through his bags, eventually finding a good bargaining chip. Upon finding it he stood back up. "Like this special star." He held the shiny object in front of the stranger's face.

The half-Saiyan stared at it with wide eyes. When he arrived on the planet he didn't expect to find a Power Star, let alone in the possession of some alien salesmen. Although he probably should have checked his scouter anyway, just in case.

"I take it you like this star?"

"Yeah, and I really need it!" Trunks stated.

The alien grinned mischievously. "Well perhaps we can strike a deal. The star for your sword."

In response to that offer Trunks shook his head. "Look, I'm not giving you my sword! And I need that star to help Rosalina get her Observatory working again."

There was a pause before the man burst out into laughter. "In all my years I've never heard such a ridiculous excuse, and believe me, I've heard lots of excuses." He then continued laughing.

"This isn't a joke!" The Saiyan yelled to deaf ears. He then sighed deeply.

After a little more chuckling the vendor calmed down. "Your sword for the star, that's the deal!" He crossed his scaly arms, signaling that he wasn't joking.

Before the half-Saiyan could answer he felt those energy signatures from before, and they were literally right above him. He watched as their ship drifted in the air for a few seconds before heading right outside the city's boundaries.

"What's it going to be?"

Ignoring the vendor for now Trunks dashed towards where the ship landed. He felt several evil energies on the ship, and they were a lot stronger than anything he had seen on his journey thus far. It wasn't enough to send him into a panic, but he wasn't about to ignore them. While he may not have known the true intentions of whoever was aboard it was better to be on the safe side.

A few moments later he reached the landing sight. He simply stood there and waited. He didn't have to wait long as the door opened, and a ramp slowly made its way to the ground. Stepping off the ship were four aliens, one with light green skin, two with yellow, and one with orange.

The green skinned alien was the tallest, standing a few feet above the others. He wore the standard white gloves, but had black boots instead. His legs were completely covered by his black pants. His armor consisted of a chest plate, two shoulder pads, and three pads hanging off the sides and bottom.

Both aliens with yellow skin wore the same set of armor, although one was slightly different because one of them was a girl. None the less they wore the gloves, boots, short sleeved jumpsuit, and chest armor, minus the shoulder pads.

Lastly, the one in orange had identical armor to his captain, except his chest armor only had the shoulder pads. And his boots were more yellowish than white.

The man with the green skin stood at the front. He pressed a button on his scouter and watched the number shoot up. "Looks like this is him, there's no doubt about it."

Right away Trunks could tell they worked for Lord Plum, it wasn't a hard assumption to make given the armor and scouters. "Who are you?"

"I'm Captain Papaya, this here's Orange, Citron, and Limon." The captain then took notice of the scouter on the man's face. "Hmph, if I didn't know any better I'd say you already work for Lord Plum."

"Sorry but I don't, and I have no plans in joining him." The Saiyan told them sternly.

"Aw that's a shame, and here I was hoping we could be friends." Papaya joked, making his crew chuckle lightly. "I'll tell you what, if you leave now we won't be forced to hurt you."

Trunks scoffed. "I'm not leaving. I've seen what people like you do, and I'm not going to let you harm anyone on this planet!"

In response to that threat all the aliens laughed. "Did you hear that captain, he thinks he's gonna stop us!" Citron noted.

A devilish smirk came onto Limon's face. "You're in over your head kid." She said as her laughter died down.

Soon enough Captain Papaya and his crew stopped and switched into serious mode. "Well men, and woman, why don't we show this punk the power of Lord Plum's elites?"

The crew nodded before moving into battle positions.

Trunks watched as they went to each side of him, now surrounding him. His eyes shifted between each alien, wondering which one would strike first. His answer came in the form of Limon dashing towards him with her fist extended. Reacting quickly he brought a hand up and caught her attack. He smirked before socking her in the nose.

Without warning Citron and Orange fired energy blasts at the same time, taking advantage of their foe being distracted. To their surprise the punk quickly turned around and deflected their attacks. Their shock only lasted a few seconds before they both charged at him.

Dropping down into his stance Trunks prepared for the dual assault. As soon as his foes drew near he put up his guard, blocking the orange skinned alien's punch. In retaliation he swung his right leg, knocking the alien away. That left him open to a knee to his jaw, but it didn't do any kind of damage.

Citron stood there in shock. Before he could react he was punched square in the stomach, making him double over in pain. Not a second later he got kicked in the side of his head. Screams of terror escaped his mouth as he soared across the horizon.

"I'm impressed," Captain Papaya began. "you're tougher than you look."

"We don't have to fight, you can just walk away right now."

"Sorry, but the only way this fight's gonna end is with one of us lying on the floor dead. And it's not going to be me." With a burst of speed he rushed towards his enemy. Catching him off guard he rammed his fist into the Saiyan's gut. That was followed up with an elbow to the nose, and then a roundhouse kick to the face.

Surprised by what just happened Trunks barely managed to stop himself from crashing into a group of trees. _'It looks like these guys are tougher than I thought.'_ He was snapped out of his thoughts by a ki blast hitting his back. Turning around he noticed Orange charging right at him. Instead of waiting he charged at the alien, with his fist out in front of him. Once the gap had been closed he socked his foe in the nose.

Orange clutched his nose with one hand as he fired a blast with the other. Unfortunately his blast was avoided, leaving him open to a counter attack. Unable to bring up a guard in time he was kicked in the ribs, and the impact sent him crashing into the hard ground.

The half-Saiyan had little time to celebrate as he sensed Papaya coming from behind. Right as he was about to turn around he was struck in the face by Limon. Although it didn't really hurt it did make him lose focus momentarily. Regaining focus he thrust his elbow into the alien's face, sending her back a few feet. Not a second later he was again punched in the face, but this one kind of hurt.

Captain Papaya followed that up with a flurry of fists. Since he had caught his enemy off guard he was able to bombard him with blows. And one strong uppercut sent the punk soaring in the opposite direction. Twin spheres of green energy formed within his palms as he built up his power. Once ready he thrust both hands out, firing a huge beam of energy at his enemy.

Joining their captain the rest of the elites watched as the beam made contact with their collective foe. The huge explosion that followed made them all laugh heartily. "Do you think he survived that?" Orange asked.

"Hmph, yeah right." Limon scoffed. "When was the last time you saw someone survive a blast from Papaya?"

"You fools, he's still alive. Just check your scouters." The captain told his crew, disappointment evident in his voice.

Pushing the buttons on their devices revealed that their captain was right. The punk was very much alive.

"Those were some nice moves." The smoke cleared and Trunks was floating there, with his eyes narrowed. His outfit had some holes in it, but other than that he was fine. "But you'll have to do better than that to defeat me." To accentuate his point his aura flared, making him look all the more menacing.

 _'Hm, it seems he can raise and lower his power level at will. He could be hiding his real strength.'_ The captain thought to himself before grinning. _'No matter, if it comes down to it we can always eat more fruit.'_ "What do you say guys, ready for round two?"

"Yes sir!" They barked.

Without warning the four of them charged at the Saiyan. Like bees they swarmed him; attacking from all sides. Punches and kicks were flying at blinding speed, and shock-waves were produced from the impact. Although they had the greater numbers their opponent was managing to hold his own. That wasn't much of a concern though as soon enough they would overwhelm him.

While his foes had it easy the half-Saiyan was working up quite the sweat. Fighting off all of them at once reminded of him the androids all those years ago. And while he may have been stronger than most he still didn't want any attacks slipping by his defense, because all it would take is one distraction and he would be in trouble.

Papaya saw an opening and took it, and soon enough his knee was lodged within his enemy's gut. That was all he and his crew needed to gain the upper hand. Raising his right fist he socked the Saiyan in the cheek, and then rammed his other fist into the gut.

Orange used both feet and repeatedly kicked the punk in his face, and while he may not have been as strong as his leader he still did a little bit of damage. He then flew back a bit as the yellow skinned siblings each shoved an elbow into the same area.

The four of them then unleashed a combined wave of ki, and their combined power made the energy wave that much bigger. They couldn't see it but they could hear his screams, and by the sounds of it he was heading towards the city.

Unable to stop himself Trunks went soaring across the city and eventually crash landed into a vegetable stand.

"MY CABBAGES!" The owner screamed in panic at the destruction of his produce.

Trunks moved the rubble off of himself and stood up. He then looked over to the fuming merchant and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that." Just then he saw an energy sphere heading his way. Reacting quickly he deflected it, sending it far away from the city. "You should get out of here, it isn't safe." With the warning given he flew off to rejoin the fray.

The cabbage merchant sighed heavily. "Why do I even bother?"

After flying for a few moments he stopped. The four aliens met him halfway and they were all floating directly above the city.

"You're pretty resilient. This could actually be fun." Captain Papaya grinned.

"Is this all some kind of game to you?"

A chuckle escaped the captain's mouth. "You could say that."

"It's always enjoyable making arrogant fools suffer!" The orange skinned alien exclaimed. "And because killing is fun. Like this!" Before their foe could react he unleashed an energy blast onto the city, destroying a random building.

Trunks' eyes widened as he looked back. He could see people running for their lives, and some of them were inspecting the wreckage. Just when he thought it couldn't get worse he saw another blast being aimed at the city. His anger was quickly rising.

"Look at them run!" The female alien laughed.

"With the kind of power we have no one can st-" Citron was cut off by a fist hitting his cheek, launching him back towards the forested area.

The half-Saiyan wasted no time in engaging the other aliens. Once again he was taking them all at once, except this time he was winning. Maybe it was because there was one less, or because he was fueled by anger, but either way he had the advantage. A knee to the jaw sent Limon flying towards the east. And a point blank energy blast knocked the orange skinned alien away.

Captain Papaya's aura flared as he fought the punk one on one. He was throwing blows as fast as he could, but he couldn't penetrate the strong defense of his enemy. Even as he was making his foe fly backwards he still couldn't land a blow. He caught a lucky break when his opponent missed with one of his kicks, giving him an opening. Using all his strength he rammed his fist into the chest, making his foe stumble backwards.

By the time Trunks regained focus he was kicked in the stomach by the female alien. He quickly grabbed her leg and tossed her aside. Not a second later he noticed two beams of ki coming at him from both his left and his right. Before he could even think of putting up a defense the captain was heading straight for him.

Catching the warrior off guard the green skinned alien drove his boot straight into his nose. He then threw a rapid kick to the gut before leaping backwards. As he re-orientated himself he noticed the beams had hit their target, creating yet another explosion. A devilish smirk came onto his face as he swiftly charged up a beam of his own and unleashed it onto his target.

Soon after the three aliens rejoined their captain. "Good thinking captain." Orange praised.

They watched as their opponent once again crash landed somewhere in the city, taking out a few shops in the process. "What do you say, shall we light him up?" Papaya smirked as he held out his palms.

"Whatever you say captain." Citron said.

Simultaneously all four aliens built up their power, all the while creating energy balls in their hands. Once ready they unleashed a barrage of blasts onto the spot where their foe had landed. What started off as a small bang quickly escalated into a massive explosion. Anything that was in range was instantly destroyed, and anyone who was still in the area died.

After several more moments they all ceased firing. The squad took the time to enjoy the destruction they caused. It was hard to see over the thick cloud of smoke, but they were sure it was beautiful. And as soon as the smoke screen cleared they noticed a huge crater, as well as debris from the streets and buildings.

"Talk about going out with a bang." Citron joked, making the others laugh.

"You think this is funny?"

They all turned around and noticed their foe was floating there, and he didn't look pleased. "Well well you're still alive and kicking." The green skinned alien noted.

Apart from his jacket being destroyed, and the cuts and bruises adorning his body, he was fine. His fists were clenched tightly as he looked between each grinning alien. His power was slowly rising.

Limon flashed him a smirk. "It's pointless to continue, you're no match for us."

"But hey, if you want to die that badly it's your funeral." Orange laughed.

"Trust me, I have no intention of dying today. And I'm far stronger than all of you!"

"Oh, and what makes you say that?" The green skinned alien questioned.

Instead of actually replying the half-Saiyan began building up his power. His aura burst from his body in an instant, and the ensuing wind blew his enemies away slightly. What started as a low growl quickly became a deafening yell. The sky started becoming cloudy, and the ground beneath them began shaking. Even if they couldn't actually feel it they could tell it was shaking.

Everyone who was still around looked up at the sky in awe at the sight. The harsh winds and quaking ground made it difficult to see, but from what they could see it was very impressive.

Within a few seconds Trunks' hair spiked upwards, and the color changed from lavender to gold. His eyebrows followed suit. And his aura shined a similar gold, and it seemed even more intense than before.

All four aliens looked on with wide eyes as their scouters tried desperately to measure the power level. Unfortunately they were unable to, and they all exploded in a matter of moments. Even when the winds faded they were still too shocked to move.

The Super Saiyan took a moment to revel in the terror his foes were experiencing. "What's wrong, you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"N-no... it can't be possible." Citron gasped.

"He's a... a... Super Saiyan!" The female alien added.

Captain Papaya was beyond shocked. Of course, he knew that Super Saiyans were real, given the fact that the Cold Family had been beaten by one. But he never expected to run into one on some distant planet. Plus he heard that the Super Saiyan who defeated the Cold Family had died a long time ago.

"W-what do we do s-sir?" Orange asked as his whole body shook.

It took the captain a few moments to compose himself, and when he did he glared at the Saiyan. "It doesn't matter if he is a Super Saiyan, we can still beat him!" By the looks of his crew they clearly didn't believe him. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Get him!"

Gulping the three aliens flew over towards their foe, now feeling a little less than confident. As soon as they reached him they began attacking with everything they had, but it wasn't nearly enough. All of their clumsy attacks were dodged with little effort on their foe's part.

The Super Saiyan found slight enjoyment in their pathetic attempts of hitting him. Perhaps it was just being in the Super Saiyan state, or maybe because he was giving them a taste of their own medicine, either way he didn't care. A few more moments of dodging later he unleashed a burst of energy, propelling his attackers away.

Citron was the first to recover, and by the time he did he was already doomed. Faster than he could react, his opponent dashed towards him, with his fist extended. Unable to muster a defense he was helpless to block or dodge, and thus he was punched _through_ the chest. His eyes went wide as he stared at the arm lodged in his body. Blood started pouring out of his wound, and he even coughed some up.

Trunks dislodged his fist and then unleashed a wave of ki, swallowing the alien whole.

The three remaining aliens looked on horrified at how easily their comrade had been defeated. It certainly didn't fill them with confidence. "My brother... y-you killed him!" Limon gasped.

Turning towards the rest of them Trunks narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't feel good when you lose someone important to you does it? I'll bet all those people you killed felt the same, and you probably laughed at their pain!"

"Shut up!" Filled with anger the female alien charged at the Super Saiyan. She once again assaulted him with everything she had, but much like last time there was nothing she could do. Every attack thrown was avoided with zero difficulty.

He continued dodging for a little bit before suddenly vanishing, confusing his opponent. Re-appearing several feet away he moved his hands in a rapid motion before placing them far out in front of himself. "Burning Attack!" A huge orangish-yellowish sphere of ki burst from his palms.

Limon had no time to react as the attack hit her dead on. Screams of pain escaped her as her entire body was vaporized by the energy ball. After a few agonizing moments she was dead, and there was nothing left of her.

Orange was shaking uncontrollably. How were they supposed to beat him now? Before they had a decent chance, but defeating a Super Saiyan clearly wasn't going to be easy. In fact, he would say it's impossible. "S-sir... w-what are we going to do?"

The captain grit his teeth, all the while clenching his fists. He then looked towards his scared soldier. "Don't just stand there, get him!"

"B-but sir, I-I-I can't!" He insisted.

"I don't want to hear your excuses, now get going!" Papaya barked.

Trunks decided to make it easier on the cowardly alien and end it quickly. Dashing towards his foe he charged up ki in his right hand. Once close enough he fired an energy beam, blasting his foe through the heart. He watched as his lifeless body slowly fell from the sky, with blood pouring out of his open wound.

With him dead that only left the captain. The Super Saiyan looked over to him. "You brought this on yourself. I gave you a chance to leave, but you refused it. Now your crew is dead, and soon enough your going to join them."

"This isn't over yet Saiyan, I'm far superior to those weaklings!" Papaya boasted as he built up his energy. His screams echoed through the now deserted city, and his outburst created intense winds. As his power rose he looked over at his opponent, who didn't seem fazed by the display. After a few more moments he finished. "So, are you scared yet?"

"Am I supposed to be scared?" He grinned.

Angered by the insult Captain Papaya rushed the Super Saiyan. He assaulted him with everything he could muster, not letting up for a second. Despite his intensity he couldn't land a blow. His attacks may have been faster than the eye could see, but they were nothing against the Super Saiyan.

The Super Saiyan continued dodging before swiftly punching his opponent in the gut, stopping all of his momentum. He then rammed him with his shoulder, knocking him back slightly. That was followed with a flurry of fists to the face, and he finished the combo by cupping his hands together and slamming them onto his enemy's head.

The force of the blow sent the captain straight into ground. With a loud boom he crashed, creating a big crater in the streets. As he struggled to his feet he noticed his foe had landed right in front of him. And even though he wanted nothing more than to kill the blonde haired punk he couldn't seem to find the strength to stand up.

"What's wrong, you were able to hit me before."

"C-curse you..." Ignoring the pain his body was in the alien stood up. He spit some blood onto the ground before once again charging at his opponent. This time his attacks were even slower, and they all missed by a mile. Just throwing those punches wore him out.

Trunks let this happen for only a few moments before socking his foe in the cheek. He watched as the captain went flying across the empty city, heading straight for the outskirts. The half-Saiyan stood there for a few moments before giving chase.

After what felt like forever Captain Papaya reached solid ground, but not in the way he wanted. As soon as his body touched the earth it started rolling before eventually stopping. His eyes barely open, he noticed he was right in front of his ship. Using what little strength he had left he began to slowly crawl towards it. _'M-must g-get to... ship... must get... f-fruit.'_

Landing right in front of his foe Trunks held out his left hand, ready to end him.

"P-please spare me."

"Spare you?! After everything you've done, after all the people you killed?!" The Super Saiyan scoffed. "How many times did your victims ask for mercy, only for you to kill them?!" His aura flared as he spoke.

The captain didn't answer, he knew his fate was sealed.

Trunks didn't wait for a reply and simply fired an energy blast at the helpless coward. His attack killed the alien instantly, and his screams of pain only lasted a few short moments. Once that was done Trunks let his Super Saiyan strength fade. He spared one last look at where the man had been before shaking his head.

He then turned towards the ship. "Might as well destroy it." As he rose his arm he heard voices coming from inside the ship. Curious, he walked up the ramp and towards the source. There wasn't actually anyone inside the ship, and the voice was coming from the speakers.

 _"Captain Papaya come in! Ugh, why can't we reach him. First his scouter goes offline, and now he's ignoring our calls. Come on, Lord Plum can't afford anymore losses!"_ There was a pause. _'Damnit, we must have lost more soldiers. This is bad, Lord Plum will have our heads for sure.'_

The Saiyan waited for more dialogue but that was the end. Crossing his arms over his chest he thought about what to do. He was certain that this ship would be able to return home without a problem, but he didn't know what would be waiting for him. Trunks figured it was more alien soldiers. And while he didn't know how strong they were they couldn't have been tougher than Papaya was. Sure, Lord Plum was probably more powerful, but probably not by much.

It would certainly make his job a lot easier. Instead of having to track down the home base he could go straight there, plus by taking down Plum sooner he would ensure no more innocent lives would be taken.

"It's settled then."He said as he made his way over to the controls. Sitting down in the chair he began moving his hands along the panel. Luckily the controls were pretty much the same as his own ship, which wasn't surprising as his mother told him that the Capsule Corp. ships were reverse engineered from Saiyan ships.

After a little bit of configuration he got the ship ready to return to the base. Right as he was about to blast off he remembered the Power Star he attempted to get earlier. Before rushing off to get it he pressed the button on his scouter, unfortunately the star was no longer there. The man who had it most likely took it with him when the city became attacked. "I guess I'll have to track that one down later."

With that taken care of he closed the door and pushed the ignition.

* * *

The Mushroom Kingdom, one of the most prosperous and beautiful kingdoms in all of Earth. Lush green forests, arid deserts, frozen tundras, the Mushroom Kingdom has it all. Ruled by the beautiful Princess Peach, inhabited by the happy go lucky Toads, and kept safe thanks to the Mario Brothers. Most of the time peace reigns over the kingdom, and everyone lives in happiness... but other times the kingdom is invaded by the evil Bowser and his armies.

Luckily any attacks made against the Mushroom Kingdom don't happen that often, and when they do Mario and Luigi are always there. The mustachioed heroes challenged Bowser and his minions time and time again, and they always come out on top. Of course, the battles are never easy, and they did have to rely on power-ups every now and then, but no matter what they always win.

Bowser wasn't the only enemy to the Mushroom Kingdom though. There was another who, although not as powerful, was just as evil,. His name was Wario, and he bared a striking resemblance to the Mario Bros., except he was much more plump and he always sported a cocky grin. He too would battle the Mario Bros. but every time he would be defeated. He was just no match for the duo.

His luck changed when after stumbling across a Power Star he met some strange alien creatures. After refusing to surrender his star he was offered to join their army, and after their promise of power he accepted. And so he went with them to their home base, which Wario was surprised to learn was on a whole other planet! Obviously he had questions but his new allies only told him so much. Something about him being an annoying pest.

Once he reached the planet he began his training, and it wasn't easy. His trainers would harshly instruct him on all of their techniques, and more often than not the sessions ended with him lying in a bloody mess on the ground. There were so many things to learn, and at points it all seemed like too much. Yet Wario never gave up, he would show them just how tough he could be.

As the weeks went by he slowly started to pick up their secrets. He could now fully use his inner energy and flying, while terrifying at first, was becoming like a second nature. The best part was just how much stronger and faster he had become. Apparently his 'power level' had increased by a huge amount since his first day. Wario was sure that he could easily beat the Mario Brothers now.

After his training was done Wario was given a new uniform, which consisted of skin tight black pants, a short sleeved black shirt, white boots and gloves, and a purple chest plate with huge shoulder pads. To top it all off he had been given a scouter, which could easily locate Power Stars, as well as people. It also acted as a communicator for him and his new allies. With all of that together he felt like a new man!

Wario was then given assignments to go out and find more Power Stars, and to retrieve them at all cost. His first mission was to go to the Mushroom Kingdom ironically as there were plenty of stars there. It worked out because not only could he complete his mission, but also kill the Mario Brothers!

His ship had landed on a plateau overlooking the kingdom. The door opened and Wario stepped outside. He then looked at the castle and started laughing. "You won't be beating me this time Mario Brothers, and once your dead I'll reduce the Mushroom Kingdom to rubble!" He accentuated his plan by laughing heartily.

* * *

This looks like a good place to end it. Not too much happened in this chapter(aside from all the fighting) but it sets things up for next time. Trunks defeated more of Lord Plum's army and is now heading for the main base, so you can expect an all out assault next time. I added that stuff in with Wario to, A: bring in more Mario to the series, B: because I like Wario, and C: because it spices things up. Just and FYI this Wario is based off of the older Wario, like from the N64/Gameboy era, and his voice is the higher pitched one(like in Mario Golf and Mario Kart64). And no, he won't have any gas attacks! That's all for now, be sure to R&R and have a wonderful day!

FutureShock


	10. Battle

Chapter Ten: Battle

Lord Plum sat on his throne, nursing a glass of wine. What started off as good day quickly went south. His scientists were having trouble with the Power Stars, as well as that really big one. Plus the men sent out to gather more fruit came back with only a few pieces, instead of the big amount they promised. Needless to say he was angry, and if he received anymore bad news there was no telling what he might do.

A few seconds later the door to the throne room opened, and a very scared soldier walked in. "L-lord Plum, I a-apologize for the interruption, but I-I have some bad n-news."

Clenching his fist, the alien overlord stared at his cowering henchman. "Well, spit it out!"

"My lord we have had n-no contact with Captain Papaya or his crew."

"WHAT?!" Plum yelled, shaking the entire room with his outburst.

Feeling even more terrified, the poor soldier hesitantly nodded. "W-we aren't sure what happened, but we-" He was cut off by a hand being wrapped around his throat. He struggled to break free, but his leader's grip was too strong.

"I rebuilt the Cold Empire from the ground up. I reunited all of you miserable soldiers, I gave you Fruit from the Tree of Might, and this is how you repay me?!" Plum asked, his grip tightening. Soon enough he heard a loud snap, indicating that the man in his grasp was dead. Growling he tossed the dead body toward the door. "I'm surrounded by nothing but incompetent morons!"

He then spotted someone walking outside the room. "You there!" He yelled, getting the woman's attention.

"Sir!" She saluted.

"Dispose of that corpse and tell my scientists to start working harder, or else they're going to wind up dead!"

Rapidly nodding, she quickly grabbed her fallen comrade and exited the throne room.

Now alone, Lord Plum walked over to a wall and punched a big hole through it. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to calm him. _'I may just have to just kill all those worthless idiots and do this thing myself!'_

* * *

The enemy spacecraft flew through the void of space, heading back to its place of origin. Luckily the ship had an autopilot, meaning Trunks didn't have to be constantly manning the controls. Instead he spent his time preparing for what was to come. This ship was taking him to the leader of the new empire, the man named Plum.

While he felt confident he could handle whatever would be thrown at him he was feeling a little nervous. He kind of figured there would be an army waiting for him, as to how many he didn't know. It wasn't too much of a concern, considering many of the soldiers he fought were pretty weak, aside from Captain Papaya and his elites. But that made him wonder if Lord Plum had any fighters who were stronger, hell, Plum could be as strong as a Super Saiyan!

That was somewhat of a scary thought, but the half-Saiyan didn't let that get to him too much. After all, he could always transform into his 'Ascended' Super Saiyan form if need be, but only enough to where his speed wasn't incredibly slow. _'Maybe at some point I can unlock the form Gohan did against Cell'_ The form Gohan unlocked was the proper ascension to the next level, as it had both immense power, and speed. But for now he would settle for what progress he made.

Since he had some time before landing he did a little training. The stolen ship didn't have any kind of gravity modifiers, but that wasn't much of a problem. He just did his normal routine, as well as going through his katas. Just because the upcoming fight could have been easy didn't mean he wanted to be unprepared. From experience he knew being ready was a big key to victory.

And even though he was training he kept it rather light. All of this flying through space, and fighting Papaya and his crew did take its toll on Trunks. He wasn't heavily injured, but he certainly wasn't at one hundred percent. And while he had senzu beans they were inside his spaceship, meaning he couldn't eat one right now.

His eyes then grew wide at a realization. In his last fight his jacket had been destroyed, and along with it his case full of capsules. "Oh no..." While he didn't know what was inside every capsule he figured they were important. "Don't tell me my ship was in there!" Not wanting to believe that he reached into his pockets, and when he discovered a capsule he let out a sigh. Luckily he placed his ship inside his pocket.

"Too bad that tea is gone." A small sigh escaped his lips, but he didn't think about it too much. If it came down to it he could always return to that planet... depending on if he could find it again of course.

Returning his focus to his training, he continued his exercises. As he threw his fists through the air a beeping sound reached his ears. It was coming from the command console. Curious, he walked over to it, and upon doing so he saw a message. "Estimated time of arrival: three minutes."

The Saiyan let out another sigh. "Well, I just hope I'm ready."

* * *

Things were rather peaceful in the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser hadn't attacked in a while, Wario wasn't trying to cause trouble, nothing bad at all. Since it was so peaceful, Mario and Luigi had taken some time off to enjoy it. They were currently at the Toad Highlands golf course, playing a friendly game with two out of town friends Sonny and Harry.

Luigi was currently up, and he was putting all of his focus into sinking his putt. The hole was far away, and the hill in his path proved to be a challenging obstacle. He had to get it just right, or else he wouldn't get par. Needless to say he was nervous.

"Hurry up!" Sonny called out playfully. He and the others had been waiting for what felt like ever, and they were growing tired of it.

Sending a quick glare at him, Luigi let out a deep breath before hitting his ball. He watched as the ball rolled up the hill, and then down. Unfortunately, there was a slight curve, and his ball just missed the hole. His eyes went wide and his mouth agape as he stared at the scene.

Mario walked over his brother and placed comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's alright Luigi, that was a tricky shot."

Harry let out a slight chuckle. "Maybe you'll do better next hole." He then moved over to his own ball. "Now let me show you how a real golfer does it." Right as he was about to take his putt the ground started shaking. "Huh?"

Moments after a huge explosion happened in close proximity to the group. They all looked on with wide eyes before hearing maniacal laughter. They all looked around for the source, before spotting somone standing several feet away from them.

"Well well, if it isn't the Mario Brothers and their little friends."

"Wario?!" The brothers exclaimed. Having not seen him in a long time they were surprised by his sudden appearance, as well as the strange clothes he was wearing.

Warior let out a chuckle. "Surprised? I guess I can't blame ya. After all, I've been off this planet undergoing heavy training, while you two have been slacking off golfing."

Both brothers got into their fighting stances, preparing for the inevitable confrontation.

Meanwhile Sonny and Harry were shaking, having not expected a fight to break out during their peaceful golf game. "Let's get out of here Harry!"

"Yeah."

With that the two golfers sprinted away from the green, not caring that the game was over. Their lives were more important than some silly game.

"So what do you want Wario?" Mario demanded.

The evil an laughed. "To finally beat you two of course! I'm a lot stronger now, and with the power I have I'll crush you two!"

Mario narrowed his eyes. "We will a-see about that." Without warning he ran forward, charging his rival. He then leapt into the air, throwing himself at his opponent. Once in range he threw a punch, expecting to knock his rival down. To his surprise his fist had no effect on his rival.

In response to that pitiful blow Wario chuckled. "You'll have to do better than that." Faster than his rival could see he socked him in the gut, sending him flying backwards.

"Mario!" Luigi cried as he watched his brother soar across the golf course. He then diverted his attention to their enemy, all the while glaring daggers at him.

Like his brother he charged the portly man, ready to wipe that smug look off his face. The green clad man closed the gap and quickly hopped into the air before planting a kick to the face. Much like his brother though his attack did nothing. He barely had time to react as a boot struck his gut, sending him flying in the opposite direction.

Wario let out a hearty laugh. "Is that the best you two can do?"

Getting up from the ground, Mario shook himself off before preparing to charge at his rival yet again. A gasp escaped his mouth when he noticed the portly man was gone. His eyes scanned the area, but he couldn't see him.

Beside him Luigi stood up. "Where did he go?"

"Here I am!"

They both turned around but were unable to block the fists that flew at them, and as such they were again launched backwards. The brothers went tumbling across the ground before eventually righting themselves.

"How are we supposed to beat him?" Luigi questioned.

Mario had no idea. Normally he and his brother could easily beat their greedy rival, but that was in the past. Something happened to Wario, and whatever it was made him a lot stronger than before. He wasn't sure what they could do, but that didn't mean they would give up. "I don't know, but we have to keep trying."

Tired of waiting, Wario held out his hands, making purple spheres of energy form within his palms. He uttered a small chuckle before unleashing two energy balls upon his enemies.

"Duck!" The red clad man yelled as he and his brother barely avoided the attack. Once they stood back up they both heard, and felt the explosion that happened behind them. They both gulped, realizing how close that was.

Not a moment later Wario appeared in front of them, sporting a wicked grin. Faster than either of his opponents could see he punched them both in their stomachs, making them double over. He then slammed his fist onto Mario's back, knocking him to the ground. He then grabbed Luigi with both arms and threw him backwards.

Mario tried to get up but the boot of his rival was quickly pressed firmly onto his back, immobilizing him while at the same time causing a lot of pain. He got a little relief when his enemy lifted his foot up, but the pain then returned when his spine was once again struck.

"To think you were once unbeatable, but here you are groveling at my feet!" He laughed before repeatedly stomping on his rival's back. "I could end you right now, but I think I'll take my time to enjoy this!"

* * *

"Now arriving at Frieza Planet 68."

Trunks stood right at the entrance, ready for what awaited him. He had finished his light training, and managed to find a snack in another part of the ship. The half-Saiyan was now simply waiting for the vessel to land, and once it did he would spring into action. He let out a few deep breathes as the ship slowly went in for a landing. He could sense a bunch of people around, who were most likely awaiting the return of their comrades.

Once the ship touched down Trunks let out one final breath before opening the door. It slowly opened, revealing a group of aliens.

"Captain Papaya, you've returned! Good, Lord Plum is-" He was cut off by a fist slamming into his face, knocking him out instantly.

Everyone else gasped upon realizing that it wasn't Papaya or his crew. There was no time to react as they were each taken down in an instant.

Not a moment later alarms started going off, signaling that something was wrong.

Trunks realized his presence had just been made known, but that didn't really matter. It was bound to happen. A white aura enveloped his body as he flew into the fortress, all the while he extended his senses. It would only make sense that the one with the highest power level was the leader, and so when he located it he headed in that direction.

As he flew he passed by several guards and soldiers, all of which seemed to be in a panic. They were the least of his concerns though, so he ignored them. The Saiyan continued flying through the various hallways, navigating them with both speed and efficiency. With the rate at which he was traveling he reached his destination in no time.

Abruptly stopping, Trunks stood in front of a set of large doors. Steeling his nerves, he unleashed a kiai, blowing both doors away. There at the end of the room, was an alien with dark purple skin, wearing armor similar to his henchmen, but different enough to signal his status. He also appeared to be holding something in both hands. "You must be Lord Plum."

Standing up from his throne, Plum eyed the man curiously. "Yes, I am Lord Plum, leader of Frieza's former empire. Now tell me, who are you?"

"I'm Trunks. I've traveled across space to find you." He declared.

A soft chuckle escaped the tyrant's mouth. "Judging by the way you blew my door open I take it you're not here to join me."

The half-Saiyan smirked. "You're right, I didn't. I came here to defeat you!"

In response to that threat Plum laughed. "You think you can defeat me? How foolish. But if you really want to die I suppose I can indul-" He was cut off by a fist slamming into his face, sending him flying into the back wall. His body crashed through it, as well as several others. The alien eventually stopped, sporting a grin despite what had happened.

Inside the throne room Trunks waited for his opponent to return. He could sense that Lord Plum was strong, but nowhere near the Saiyan's level.

"I'm impressed," Suddenly Plum appeared in the throne room. "you're a lot stronger than I thought. Perhaps I'll have to fight seriously." He then brought both hands up before bringing them to his mouth. The two Fruit of the Tree of Might he had been holding were quickly consumed. "Prepare yourself, for your demise!"

The Saiyan raised an eyebrow, before he felt it.

In an instant the fruit's effects occurred. Lord Plum screamed as raw power began surging through his body, creating a huge aura around his body. His power began shooting up, much larger than he thought possible. The entire fortress was shaking due to the power output. Cracks formed within the ground and the walls, and the ceilings threatened to collapse all together. Lord Plum continued unleashing his power before his outburst slowed down to a stop. The alien then took a moment to revel in his power increase, all the while grinning like a mad man. After doing so he locked eyes with his foe, enjoying the look of shock.

Without warning he dashed forward and slammed both fists into his enemy's gut, making him double over in pain. He then thrust his arms upward, sending his foe flying through the ceiling. With newfound speed he flew up, stopping right above his foe. With a mighty yell he brought his fist down onto the spine of his foe, sending him back into the throne room.

Not wasting any time he rapidly descended downward. With malicious intent he landed right on top of his opponent, making him scream out in pain. Plum leapt off before grabbing his downed enemy by the arm. Using his free hand he landed a serious of quick, painful punches to the gut, and then to the face. He finished the combo by releasing his grip and then planting a hard kick to the chest, launching his foe through the walls of the fortress.

Holding out his palms, Plum began building up his energy, Twin spheres of purple formed, and once they were big enough he thrust his arms outward, unleashing two powerful blasts. A loud explosion was the result, which caused even more damage. "Hm, this is just too easy."

"I wouldn't start celebrating yet."

Plum turned around and saw his opponent. He noticed all the bruises, cuts, and dried blood covering his body. "Well well, you're tougher than I thought. But it doesn't matter, it'll only be a matter of time before I kill you."

In spite of the damage taken Trunks flashed him a smirk. "Oh really? Well since you revealed your true power to me, I should do the same for you." Before his opponent could question him Trunks clenched his fists and built up his power. The ground beneath him shook, as did the entire room. Huge gusts of winds blew in all directions, making his foe shield himself lightly. His shouting increased, echoing throughout the entire fortress. Soon enough a golden aura erupted from his body, and his hair and eye color had changed accordingly.

A silence followed as the alien overlord stared at his opponent, and the only noise coming from the intense golden aura. He continued staring before chuckling lightly. "I didn't expect to be fighting a Super Saiyan, but I guess it's only fitting. I'm going to do what the Cold Family never could, I'm going to kill a Super Saiyan!"

"Go ahead and try!"

Roaring loudly, Lord Plum charged forward, ready to wipe that smug look off the Saiyan's face. Once close enough he threw a punch, but to his shock his fist was caught. Before he could react a knee struck his chin, followed by an elbow to his face. As he recoiled he was struck in the jaw with a punch, nearly knocking some of his teeth loose. That was the least of his concerns though as a boot hit him square in the nose, launching him into a wall.

Trunks wasted no time in pursuing. He followed his enemy into another room, which appeared to be some kind of supply room. The Super Saiyan noticed his foe getting up, and so he went in for a punch. His fist flew toward the face, but it just barely missed. He then brought his other arm up to intercept a kick. Knocking the leg away, he used his momentum and rammed his other fist into his foe's ribs.

Lord Plum grunted from the pain, but he was quick to recover. As his enemy went in for another blow he moved his body to the side, avoiding the punch that would have hit struck his chest. He retaliated with a punch of his own, striking the Super Saiyan in the forehead, making him stagger backwards. Dashing forward, he slammed into his foe with his body, bringing him along for a ride.

Both warriors crashed through several walls of the fortress, adding to the destruction. Those who were still inside panicked further upon seeing their leader battling a mysterious warrior. Things were already bad enough, but now their leader was in a fight. It was enough to make them start evacuating. And although the price for desertion was high they were better off fleeing.

Eventually, the Saiyan managed to free himself, just before crashing into an armory. Now free he prepared to counter-attack. Igniting his aura, he flew at his opponent, who was just now recovering. Reeling his fist back he threw it full force at the alien, who in turn intercepted it with his own fist.

Their fists collided, sending out a massive shockwave. Nearby glass shattered like it was nothing, and the walls of the room cracked before shattering as well. In fact the entire room around them collapsed, showering the fighters in rubble. Neither cared though as their attention was focused solely on the battle.

Lord Plum quickly vanished, appearing directly behind his opponent. He caught the Saiyan off guard, and instantly socked him in the cheek, propelling him through more walls until he was outside the fortress. Bursting through the already damaged wall, the alien overlord ascended higher into the air. Once he was above his foe he brought the heel of his foot down, striking him yet again in the spine.

The Super Saiyan crashed into the ground, creating a huge crater. He laid there for only a moment before digging himself out. Glancing upward, he saw his enemy heading toward him. He leapt backwards, avoiding the kick. As the alien struggled to free himself Trunks charged at him and rammed him with his shoulder. He then threw a flurry of punches to the face, making his enemy ascend higher and higher. After several more blows he cupped his hands together and slammed them onto his opponent's head.

With a loud boom the alien overlord crashed into a nearby ship, right as it was about to take off. A few moments later he unleashed an explosive wave of energy, completely destroying the vessel as well as killing those inside. Plum then quickly charged up energy in his hands before firing a barrage of ki bullets.

Moving quickly Trunks avoided the blasts headed his way, not caring where they were hitting. He could both feel and hear the explosions behind him, and he knew at this rate the citadel would be destroyed. Although that wasn't much of a concern to him. Still, he moved closer to Plum, ready to end the barrage. He expertly avoided the blasts, and as soon as he was close enough he kicked the alien in the face.

Plum flew backward before using his energy to stop himself. He brought his hand up to his mouth, using it to wipe away the blood. Even with the damage he had received so far he couldn't help but smirk. "It's you, isn't it?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" The Super Saiyan questioned.

"In the recent weeks I've been getting reports of my crew getting killed. Squadrons don't return to base, and any communication fails. You're the one that's been killing my armies." He let out a chuckle. "Captain Papaya and his crew were my top soldiers, but not even Papaya could defeat a Super Saiyan. And so it all comes down to this. Only one of us will walk away from this battle, and I don't intend to lose!" His aura spiked upwards.

Trunks grinned as his aura flared as well. "Neither do I."

* * *

"Hahahaha, your screams make this even better!" Wario had continued torturing his rival. It started off with multiple stomps on the spine, but he grew weary of that. He then picked his rival up and punched him repeatedly in the face, and by the time he was done it looked pretty disfigured. Now he had the red clad man trapped in a bear-hug, squeezing all the life out of him. The screams of pain, the sounds of the spine cracking, it made the greedy man smile. He could feel bones breaking, and it would only be a matter of time before his rival was no more.

Mario screamed in pain at the pressure being applied, but he had no way of breaking free. He struggled with everything he had, but it just wasn't enough. At this rate he would be done for, but there was nothing he could do.

"Say goodbye Mario!"

Suddenly Luigi came running forward, with his left fist clenched. His fist soon became engulfed with green flames. He had taken Wario by complete surprise, and he knew this was his only chance. Once he was in range he leapt up rammed his fist into his foe's jaw. A loud noise rang out through the area, almost sounding like shattering glass. An explosion of fire also erupted from the collision.

Once the dust settled Luigi noticed both his brother, and his enemy lying on the ground. He let out several pants before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out two Mushrooms, one for him and one for his brother. After placing the Mushroom in his mouth he felt his energy return to him.

"Here, eat this brother." Since his brother was in rough shape Luigi fed to him, as well as help him swallow it.

Instantly Mario's eyes shot open, and a second later he sprung to his feet. "Yahoo!" He pumped his fist in the air, feeling good as new. "Thanks Luigi."

"What do ya know, you're punch kind of stung." By now Wario was back up, and he didn't look happy. He rubbed his jaw, noticing the slight pain it was in. "That better not be the best you can do, otherwise you're both dead." The greedy man laughed.

Realizing that they couldn't beat him as they were now, Mario knew there was only one option. "Luigi, do you have any Fire Flowers on you?"

The green clad man nodded.

"Good, we're gonna need them."

"Right."

Together the two brothers reached into their pockets, and a few moments later they each held a Fire Flower in their palms. They shoved the flowers into their mouths, like they had with the Mushrooms, and ate them. Not a second later they had changed, with their clothes becoming all white, and their overalls red and green respectively.

Wario merely chuckled. He had both seen and felt the effects of the Fire Flowers, and while before he would have been scared he had since gotten over it. Still, even if it was pointless he had to admit this made things interesting. "Let's see how powerful those Fire Flowers really are."

* * *

The battle between the two huge powers was still raging on, and what was once a mighty fortress for a reforged empire was now nothing but ruins. Gaping holes littered the structure, and there was rubble and debris everywhere. The entire building had nearly collapsed due to all the damage, and everyone who had still been inside had met their end. It was pure chaos.

Both fighters were currently high in the air, trading blows back and forth. Shockwaves pierced the air as their blows collided, making it seem like thunder was going off. Punches and kicks were thrown at blinding speeds, and they moved so quick that their limbs appeared to be nothing but blurs.

Plum gained the upper-hand when he just barely avoided a right hook, and countered with a hard blow to the ribs. Following that up, he threw a series of rapid punches to the body, and finished off with a knee to the face. As his opponent staggered backwards he placed both hands out in front of him and unleashed a barrage of ki blasts. Even when he could see only smoke he still continued to fire, not wanting to stop until his enemy was dead.

What he didn't know was Trunks vanished after a while, moving right behind the alien. _'I'm guessing he can't sense me.'_ A small grin came to his face as he dashed toward his oblivious foe. Catching the alien off guard, he rammed his shoulder into his back. The impact sent his opponent flying forward, and just when he turned around the Super Saiyan was instantly in front of him. A hard kick to the face knocked his foe into the ground, creating a huge crater.

Trunks took a moment to catch his breath afterword. He had to admit that this fight was tougher than he anticipated, but even with that he felt... good. Sure his body was battered, and he was feeling worn out, but he couldn't help but notice his blood was pumping. Pretty much all of his previous fights were for survival, his life was constantly at stake. There was no joy in any of that. Yet now he was starting to feel excited, and he had to admit that this was quite a rush. _'This must be what it's like for dad.'_

A few moments passed before Lord Plum dug himself out. His breathing was starting to get heavy, signaling the toll this was taking on him. His body was aching, and he could feel the injuries on his body. Despite all of that he stood firm, not ready to give up yet. His aura spiked upward as he ascended into the air.

The Super Saiyan readied himself for the next round. Crossing his arms in front of him he blocked the oncoming punch, causing shockwaves to ripple in the air upon impact. Even when the fists kept flying he still held his guard. Unfortunately one managed to break through, and it hit him square in the nose.

Lord Plum followed that up with a boot to the stomach, and then an elbow to the ribs. He then took hold of his foe's arm and hurled him into the ground. Once in the ground he placed his arms high over his head. A purple sphere of energy formed in his hands, and the size of it increased with each passing second. Eventually it grew to the size of a small moon. Once it was large enough he launched it at the ground.

As soon as the energy ball hit the ground a large explosion happened. The entirety of the castle was consumed in a huge dome of pure energy. The whole planet started shaking, and the winds that blew out were even more intense. The large dome of energy continued to expand before eventually settling.

Once the explosion had ceased Plum took a moment to catch his breath. He had put a lot of power in that attack, and he was even more worn out than before. Despite the state he was in he couldn't help but smirk. "Hmph, there's no way he could have survived that." His eyes then widened in pure horror once the smoke and dust cleared away.

Trunks stood in the former fortress, inside of a very deep crater. His clothes had been reduced to scraps, and his scouter had long since been destroyed. Luckily his sword and scabbard survived the impact. His body was littered with blood, cuts, and bruises. But even with all that he stood firm.

"H-how?"

Ascending into the air, the Saiyan stopped when he was at his foe's level. "It's gonna take more than that to stop me." He noted as he wiped some blood from his lips.

The alien grit his teeth as he summoned his aura. With a mighty yell he dashed toward his foe, ready for another round. He instantly closed the gap, and once in range he delivered a kick to his opponent's gut, making him hunch over in pain. He followed that up with a left hook to the jaw, and then a fist to the face. Another punch connected with his enemy's chest, but before he could hope to land another his foe vanished.

Trunks re-appeared behind the alien, and he gave him a kick to the spine. He then reeled his right fist back, just as his opponent turned around. With a huge amount of force he slammed his fist into his foe's chest, sending him flying backwards. Before pursing Trunks started powering up lightly, making his muscles increase in size. He then rocketed toward the alien and started pummeling him with a flurry of fists.

Plum was helpless to defend himself against the onslaught, and each punch was more painful than the last. He eventually managed to slip away, and shortly after flew higher into the air. Glancing back revealed nothing, so he let out a sigh. "I guess I'm too fast for-" He was cut off mid sentence by a kick to his gut, making him wretch blood and bile. This left him unable to block the punch to his face. The impact launched him into the ground, where his body made yet another crater in the already ruined landscape.

The Super Saiyan remained in the air, waiting for his opponent to return. After a few moments he noticed the alien slowly getting up. A grin appeared on his face as he noticed just how injured his opponent was. "It'll only be a matter of time before he can't get back up again." He noted between breathes.

From down below Lord Plum clenched his fists, making his aura come to life. The alien then held his hands out in front of him, pointing them straight at his foe. Using what little power he had left, Plum began charging up one final attack. Even more cracks formed around him, and nearby debris was even further destroyed. A large purple orb of ki formed within his palms, and the size kept on increasing. _'I have to use all my power, that's the only way I can defeat him!'_

Seeing what was happening, Trunks too began drawing on his power. The Saiyan spread his arms out wide, creating twin spheres of energy. He then brought his hands together, making one giant orb. His aura flared wildly, and sparks of electricity danced around his attack. _'I hope you don't mind that I'm using your attack father.'_

The entire planet started quaking due to the amount of raw power being produced. Hurricane force winds blew out in all directions, and mountains shook violently. Chunks of rock and stone were pulled upward toward the two, but upon reaching either aura they instantly broke apart.

After a few more moments Lord Plum was ready. "Oblivion Cannon!" A gigantic beam of pure power launched from his hands, turning the area around them into a nice shade of purple.

"Final Flash!" Trunks fired his own beam, this one being a pure gold.

Once the beams collided a gigantic shockwave was produced, spreading across nearly the entire planet. The two beams created one giant orb in the sky, and the size of it was increasing by the second. The already intense conditions became even worse, and it felt like the planet itself would fall apart.

Both warriors were putting everything they had into their respective attacks, but neither was budging. And the more they struggled, the more energy they put into their attacks, and the bigger the combined sphere became.

Lord Plum found himself struggling to keep going. The effects of the battle were becoming more and more present, and he found his power starting to decrease. The alien could see the giant sphere coming closer to him, and he started to panic. "No! I-I just n-need more..." Unfortunately he couldn't go anymore, and the Final Flash swallowed his body whole. His screams of pain echoed throughout the battlefield.

Trunks knew he had won the struggle, and he also knew what would happen if his attack hit the planet dead on. So he began redirecting it, hoping that he could do so in time. Slowly the golden beam began moving forward along the ground before eventually traveling into deep space. Once he was in the clear he ceased firing.

The half-Saiyan let out several heavy breathes as his hair and eyes returned to normal. He was out of power, and didn't think he could become a Super Saiyan again even if he wanted to. Luckily he was certain he wouldn't need to. He then descended onto the ground, near where his opponent was.

Lying deep within a crater, Lord Plum was hanging on by a thread. He was in rough shape. His body was battered and broken, and he no energy left. That was his last attack, and it failed. The alien overlord knew this was the end. "Ugh... I... l-lost."

"You were tougher than I thought, but I wasn't fighting with my full power." Trunks explained as he clutched his right arm.

Despite being at death's door the alien couldn't help but grin. "All these years I thought that F-Frieza and his family were idiots... but I guess running an empire was h-harder than I thought. Y-you beat me Super Saiyan, i-it was an honorable battle." A small chuckle escaped his lips. "I g-guess I'll be joining my men... in hell." With his last words given he slipped into unconsciousness.

Trunks spared him one last glance before sighing. Unfortunately the ship he came in, as well as all the other ships, had been destroyed in the battle. "H-How am I supposed to get home?" It was then that he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and it was very shiny.

Curiously he slowly made his way over to it. Once he reached whatever it was he cleared away the rubble, and his eyes went wide upon seeing it. It was Grand Star! "A Grand Star. So they had one all this t-time." He then reached out and grabbed it, and upon touching it he found himself getting whisked away.

* * *

Trunks appeared back at the Comet Observatory, with the Grand Star floating above him. It spun around before flying into the center sphere. Upon touching it the sphere went from orange to yellow, and another part of the Observatory lit up.

"That ball of flame represents the power of the observatory. We call it the beacon. When you recover a Grand Star, a little Star Power will be restored, and the beacon will grow. The Comet Observatory can use that power to fly through the universe Once all the power is restored, we will even be able to fly to the center of the universe..." She explained with a smile. "Thank you, Trunks, your efforts are ensuring the Observatory will work again, and that the Lumas will survive."

Right as he was about to respond his body finally gave out. The Saiyan fell backwards onto the ground, and as soon as he did he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

That raps that up. Sorry it took me a little while, but I hope you all enjoyed it. I had fun writing the battle between Trunks and Lord Plum, and Plum eating the fruits gave him enough power to stand up to Super Saiyan Trunks. I hope you enjoyed the battle as well, and don't worry for there will be plenty more fights in Trunks' future. And we'll see more of the Mario Brothers and Wario soon. That's all for now, be sure to R&R and have a wonderful day!

FutureShock


	11. Endless Winter

Chapter Eleven: Endless Winter

"Ugh... w-what happened?" Trunks' eyes opened rather slowly, and he couldn't help but groan. His mind was hazy, and it struggled to piece together where he was and how he got there. His vision started returning to him, and it didn't take him long to figure out where he was.

It was a room that appeared to be dome shaped, if the curved walls and round shape were any indication. The walls were a deep blue with tons of stars littered across them, and there were also thick gray lines located on the upper portion. There was a red carpet underneath the bed, extending a little past the right side. There was also a plant located near the exit. He also noticed the big blue and gold frame around the bed, each one sporting bunched up curtains. Last but not least was a blue Pull Star.

His eyes then wandered to directly next to the bed, where he noticed his clothes folded up neatly into a pile. A quick check revealed he still had his underwear on, but that was about it. It was then that he noticed his sword, which was leaning up against the nearby wall. "Huh?" His brow then furrowed. "I know where I am, kind of, but how did I get here?"

"Oh, you're awake."

He glanced up toward the entrance and noticed Rosalina walking into the room, with a Luma in tow.

"I'm glad you have awoken, you were out for some time." She said with a smile.

"How long was I out?" The half-Saiyan questioned.

"Almost a week." The princess told him, making him gasp. "Your injuries were pretty severe, so I put you in my bed to rest. I had to travel to nearby planets in search of medicine for you. Luckily I was able to find some wonderful medicine that helped you recover."

The Saiyan took a moment to get a feel for his body, and while he wasn't fully healed he could tell that everything important was fine. Sure there was still some soreness, and possibly scars that might not heal, but all in all he felt good. Not to mention stronger, due to recovering from certain death. He then threw the covers off his bed and stood up, and he managed to do so without a problem.

Rosalina's face became red as she stared at the almost naked warrior, noting just how muscular he was. She continued staring before shaking her head. "I'll be back in a bit, I have to do some checkups on the Observatory. Feel free to take as much time as you need to recover." With the message delivered she turned and left her room.

Once alone Trunks started putting his clothes back on, only to realize just how torn up they were. At this point they were nothing but rags, and wouldn't last much longer at this rate. Luckily he had a full closet of clothes back on his ship, but since his ship was still capsulized he settled for the rags.

As soon as his clothes were on, and once his sword was strapped to his back, he exited the room. Now awake he noticed that the Observatory was a little less dark, due to him recovering a Grand Star. It definitely looked more beautiful, and the Lumas certainly seemed happy.

A small smile came to his face as he walked up a set of stairs, leading up to what appeared to be a library. He ignored it for now and continued walking along the carpeted area. After doing so he noticed Rosalina, who appeared to be talking with a Luma.

"We still need more Grand Stars to completely power our home, but thanks to Trunks we have more of the Observatory working." She noted with a soft smile.

"So how many more Grand Stars do you need?"

Both turned and noticed the man responsible for slowly but surely restoring power to their home. The princess' smile grew at the sight of him. "There are still four Grand Stars left to return full power to the Observatory."

He nodded at that. "Well I better get to work then."

Rosalina raised a curious brow. "So soon? You just recovered from serious injuries, and the medicine could only do so much." She told him.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "Hey don't worry about me, I'm pretty tough. Besides, Saiyans get stronger after recovering from a serious battle." He explained.

She was a little confused, but figured he knew what he was doing. So she merely nodded softly. "Well just be careful out there, I would hate for you to get hurt again."

The half-Saiyan noticed the sadness in her voice, and couldn't help but smile. "I promise." He said, making her smile.

An awkward silence followed as the two looked at one another, causing both to blush. After several long moments Trunks cleared his throat. "I should get going, so I guess I'll see you later." With a friendly wave he took off toward the bedroom, remembering that there was a Pull Star in there.

Rosalina waved back, and once he was out of sight she let out a small sigh. She really was grateful for his help, more so than he probably realized. Trunks was a complete stranger to her, but he had helped her out anyway. He could have easily ignored the Luma, but he didn't, instead he helped Luma return home to her. _'He really is a kind and noble man.'_ She thought to herself, making her face go red.

* * *

Trunks had used the Pull Star and once again blasted off into space, feeling just as excited as the first time. It still managed to amaze him how beautiful outer space was, especially when traversing through it without the use of a ship. This made him think back to Rosalina, and how she probably experiences this on a daily basis.

It also made him reflect on everything that's happened so far. Growing up, he never thought he would ever go into outer space. And while he certainly had the means he didn't think it would happen, not when the androids were making life a living hell for everyone. Yet here he was, traveling across the universe on a grand adventure. He met different varieties of people, and saw incredible sights.

The half-Saiyan imagined this is what it was like for his father, being able to travel to different planets... although it was for an entirely different reason. Still, he could only wonder what his father thought of it all, or if he treated it with coldness and indifference like everything else.

His thoughts ceased when he realized he was arriving at his next destination. It was a pretty big planet, which looked as white as snow... most likely because it was indeed a snowy planet. As soon as he entered the atmosphere he could tell this was a barren, frozen, wilderness.

Once he touched down on the snowy surface he took a look around, which was kind of pointless seeing as how it was pretty much white out. A blizzard was raging, and the snow was falling diagonally. Harsh winds blew, adding to the already frigid temperature. It was an intense storm, and didn't appear to be stopping any time soon.

For any normal man they would most likely die out in a storm like this, but being half-Saiyan Trunks wasn't too fazed by it. Of course it was very cold, but he had endured similar conditions in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber... minus the heavy snow and wind of course. Although his rags weren't doing much to help keep warm.

In order to keep warm, as well as provide a light in the darkness, Trunks transformed into a Super Saiyan. The bright light from his aura lit up the area around him, and the intense energy and heat radiating off it started to warm him. He also felt stronger than when he fought Plum, which again, was because he was part Saiyan.

With light and warmth taken care of he could now begin his search. His hand moved to the side of his head... only to touch nothing. It was then that he remembered that in the fight with Lord Plum his Scouter had been destroyed, but exactly when that happened he didn't know. All he knew was that it was gone, and he wasn't sure if he could get another.

A sigh then escaped his lips. "Great, how am I supposed to find the Power Stars now?" While he could search the planet top to bottom he knew that that would be pretty inefficient, and he could be at it for days!

An idea then came to his head. It was faint, but he could definitely sense other beings on this planet. So the logical move was to seek them out and hope for the best, and if they didn't have a Star, or any idea what that was, then at the very least Trunks could form a plan inside a possibly warm building.

With his decision made he took off toward the only living beings on the planet. It was a little rough flying through the blizzard, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. Mostly it was kind of hard to see, even with the light of his aura. Luckily, because he could sense, he did have a way to go. Still, it was a little tricky navigating through the white out.

All this snow and cold made him wonder how anything or anyone could survive. Sure, there might have been creatures made for the climate, but he wasn't sure if that was the case. And if it wasn't then he would be very impressed that they managed to stay alive. Who knows, whoever it is could have a Power Star... a bit unlikely, but still possible. It was probably his only lead so he figured it was worth a shot.

While he could tell he was making progress due to the energy signatures getting closer, he couldn't tell visibly. Again, it was a total whiteout. If it weren't for his senses he would be totally lost, and would've most likely ended up flying around for days without finding anything. Luckily this wasn't the case, and his journey wouldn't take much longer.

A few minutes later, he assumed, he reached the location of the various ki signatures. Not surprisingly, there was a gigantic building, with a giant satellite dish on top of it. He wasn't surprised because he had a feeling it was people he was sensing, and unless animals were taking shelter in there he was right.

He descended down onto the snow covered ground, right in front of a set of double doors. Right as he was about to go through them he paused. Trunks was still wearing his torn clothes, and while that hadn't really been a problem up until this point he felt the need to change. Not just for himself, but whoever or whatever was in there. First impressions were everything, especially between a half alien and supposed full alien.

He pushed one of the doors open and stepped inside, and once in he closed the door behind him. Already he could feel the warmth inside the building, and as such he powered down out of Super Saiyan. He then took a look around, noticing the overhead lamps hanging from the high ceiling. Most lights were on, some were off, and others flickered rapidly.

Directly in front of him was a set of stairs that snaked around the wall to the second level of the building. Since he could fly he chose to do that instead of climbing up the stairs, and reached the second floor in no time. Once on that floor he walked along the pathway toward another door.

After opening the door he walked into the next room, which appeared to have a bunch of computers and monitors inside. Not just that, but there were people too! There were only a handful, and they all walked along two legs.

One of them stopped what they were doing, having heard the door opened, and turned around. To their surprise it was a man carrying a sword, and they were only wearing light clothing. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The voice was feminine.

"I'm Trunks, I came to this planet in search of Power Stars." He explained.

She removed her hood, revealing pale skin and short brown hair. Her attire consisted of heavy boots, thick pants, a heavy jacket over several layers of shirts, and gloves. She stared at the man curiously, still having no idea how he survived outside. "Did you come in a ship?" That had to be it, because how else could he have gotten here?

"No, I flew here under my own power."

Her jaw felt like it was going to fall right off her face. "Y-you flew here?!" It was insane! The already cold temperatures were bad enough, but there were also punishing blizzards, and the winds made everything colder. So for someone to fly in all that was just crazy!

He nodded. "I'm used to cold temperatures, and it wasn't really that long of a journey." He clarified.

She was still shocked by his bravery, but then shook it off. "Well I'm impressed." She then held out her hand. "I'm Marie."

"Trunks." He shook her hand for a few moments before withdrawing it. "So what are you all doing out here?"

Marie let out a small sigh. "We were sent here to investigate the harsh weather conditions, and we set up this research station. Unfortunately our ship broke down when he landed here, and we have no means of escape. We tried sending out signals via the big satellite dish, but these conditions are making it impossible for us to do so." She explained.

The half-Saiyan furrowed his brow. "This blizzard has to clear up sometime right?"

In response she laughed, although she found little humor in the situation. "We asked the same thing, of course that was several months ago."

His eyes became saucers, and his jaw dropped upon hearing that. "You've been trapped here for several months?!" He received a slow nod. "How have you been surviving?" The fact that they had lasted so long was astonishing, and he wasn't sure how they did it.

"Well we anticipated a long stay and made sure to bring a lot of supplies, but we are starting to run out."

"Okay, but what about this research station? It must take quite a bit of power to keep it running?" The Saiyan questioned.

"Here follow me." Marie motioned for him to follow, and then led him across the room to another set of doors.

Trunks trailed her, and couldn't help but wonder what she had to show him. He assumed it was some kind of massive generator, or something like that. It only stood to reason that a building so large would need a lot of power, and so whatever was powering it needed to be just as big.

It was then that a recent memory flashed through his mind. A while back when he went to that lava filled planet he discovered an underlava research station, which had been powered via Power Star. Maybe it was just a coincidence... or maybe it wasn't. _'There's no way that this station is also powered by Power... Stars...'_

His eyes once again widened in shock at the sight that greeted him. Embedded within two machines were Power Stars, and he knew that they weren't there for decoration.

Marie stopped and glanced over at him, confused as to what made him speechless. It was then that a realization hit her. "Oh... these must be the Power Stars you need."

He only nodded.

"This certainly complicates things." The brunette joked.

Trunks furrowed his brow, trying to think of what to do. He needed the Power Stars to help Rosalina, but Marie needed them to keep herself and the other members of her crew alive. It was certainly a tricky situation, but he knew there had to be a way to solve all their problems.

Seeing him deep in thought made the researcher sigh. "We'd be happy to give you those Stars, but unless you have a way to stop the blizzard I'm afraid we can't help you." She told him plainly.

Hearing her words made him come to a realization, and a plan started forming in his mind. "What if I did stop the blizzard?"

Marie looked at him as if he were insane. "You're going to stop a blizzard..." A light chuckle escaped her lips which soon escalated into full blown laughter. "Yeah right, hahaha! And how exactly do you plan on stopping it?"

He let out a defeated sigh. "I don't know... but I'll think of something." The half-Saiyan stated confidently.

The brunette continued laughing before calming down, mostly due to the fact that he was offering to help her. It certainly wasn't right to make fun of someone who's offering to help. "Well, you let me know how that goes."

Trunks merely nodded before turning to leave.

* * *

Back outside in the blizzard, Trunks activated his Super Saiyan transformation yet again. He stood outside the entrance to the building for a few moments, all the while closing his eyes. His senses stretched out far, reaching all the way across the planet.

While the storm could have just been natural, he had a theory that someone, or something, was controlling it. Of course he had no idea how things worked on this planet, and for all he knew it did have really long periods of storms... or maybe there was something out there that made the snow keep falling. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing.

Using his ship crossed his mind, and while it did seem like a very logical idea he knew it wouldn't work. Trying to fly his ship in these conditions would be extremely difficult, and the last thing he needed was to ruin his ship. And while his ship may have been tough enough to make it he wasn't about to find out the hard way if it couldn't.

After several moments he discovered more energy signatures out there. They were bunched together, as well as _really_ far away. Whether this was the cause of the storm, or something else entirely had yet to be seen, but it was all he had to go on.

His aura flared as he sprung into the air, launching the snow beneath him in every direction. Once in the air he sped off towards the ki signatures. Again, with low visibility it was hard to tell where he was going, but so long as he used his senses he knew he would be alright. And hopefully this was leading him to the cause of the seemingly endless snow storm.

This begged the question of who, or what, could be behind this. It could have been some kind of monster with snow powers, or someone using some kind of machine. As to why someone would want an endless winter was beyond him, but he figured he would get his answer soon enough.

It also made him wonder if he could successfully stop the harsh conditions plaguing this planet. After all, Trunks was seeking out a complete stranger, humanoid or otherwise, and speaking on behalf of a bunch of people who aren't even from this planet. And if this mysterious being was native to this planet, then it could be difficult to get them to stop the raging storm... assuming they had the power to anyway.

All thoughts ceased as the Saiyan realized that he was nearing his destination. It was a little surprising he made it there in practically no time at all, but since he had been so lost in thought he wasn't sure how much time had passed.

Trunks found himself at the entrance of a pretty big cave, which rested at the foot of a giant mountain. He descended onto the ground and entered the cave, already feeling a temperature difference. It was still cold, but less so than outside. The only light came in the form of his Super Saiyan aura, as it was pitch black inside the natural shelter.

Drips of water fell from the stalactites, which aside from the hallowing winds outside was the only sound in the cave. That was about it in terms of noise, which served to make things all the more eerie. Even a warrior like Trunks felt a little on edge, and that's taking into account his ability to sense energy.

 _'I wonder what could possibly be living in here?'_

Just then a loud roar echoed throughout the cave, breaking the relative silence.

Instantly the Super Saiyan was on guard, ready for whatever awaited him. His senses told him that whatever made that noise was closing in, in fact there were two of them. Their power wasn't anything compared to his, but it was still pretty impressive.

Suddenly, two huge hulking hairy monsters appeared. They each stood on two legs, and looked to be about eight or nine feet tall. Their bodies were covered from head to toe in white fur, save for their feet, hands, and faces. Razor sharp claws, huge feet, jagged teeth, it was all pretty scary.

While they may have looked intimidating the half-Saiyan wasn't easily scared, as he had faced far worse in his life. And despite the obvious size and weight difference he stood firm. Even as one of the monsters swung a big claw at him he didn't waver, and instead grabbed the claw before it could reach him.

The monster growled as its claw as held tight, and it struggled to free it. After several failed attempts it swung its whole arm up, bringing the warrior along for the ride. Once the arc of his swing was completed it watched with satisfaction as the man smacked against the wall of its home.

On his part Trunks was surprised that it had managed to do that, but then again, he had lowered his guard a bit when he noticed he wasn't in much danger. His surprise only lasted a few moments before a roar brought him back to reality, and just in time to avoid a jagged rock being thrown in his direction.

The half-Saiyan got up and charged the hairy beast, catching it completely off guard. One punch to the jaw had sent the monster flying out of the cave, into the harsh blizzard. With one taken care of he diverted his attention toward the second one, which looked ready to attack him. Faster than it could see he delivered a powerful kick to its stomach, launching it out of the cave as well.

He approached the entrance and awaited his opponents to return to the battle... but that never happened. The Super Saiyan kept on waiting, but the monsters didn't move. His senses told him that they were both in critical condition, and were pretty much dead. He supposed that made sense, considering he was still in his Super Saiyan form.

With that taken care of he turned around and continued traversing through the cave. There was still someone else inside, and they felt different than the monsters he was just fighting. Either this was the person responsible for the snow storm, or it wasn't and he would have to figure something else out.

Surprisingly, there was light deeper into the cave, and it didn't look natural. It became brighter the further in he went, and it was also leading him toward whoever was still inside. After a while he reached the source of the light, which was coming from a giant machine. Said machine had a lever with three settings, as well as a giant tube which shot up into the mountain. It was also producing a somewhat loud noise.

Trunks stared at it curiously before slowly approaching it. "This must be it." He muttered as he stopped right in front of the machine. He noticed the lever was pulled all the way to the left, which displayed a picture of the fierce blizzard on the bottom. On the other side was the exact opposite setting, and so he pulled the lever in that direction.

After doing so he noticed the noise had stopped, and any movement the machine made had also stopped. The half-Saiyan was unable to tell if that had any effect, but he realized that that was the easy part. "Well, that was easy."

Just then he got down and rolled to the side, avoiding an icy blast that was aimed for his head. Trunks got up and looked toward the source, and he saw a man with light blue skin, with wild white hair, wearing a heavy grey robe.

The man grinned. "You're quite quick to have been able to dodge that. Yes, and strong too, seeing as how you defeated my wendigos." A sinister laugh escaped his mouth as he took a few steps forward.

"Are you the one causing that blizzard outside?" The Super Saiyan questioned.

"Who else could have set up that machine?" He let out another chuckle. "I am Icicle, the lord of the frozen wastelands! I came to this planet because I thrive in these harsh conditions. Unfortunately there were periods of time where it doesn't snow, and it actually warms up, but I took care of that! Thanks to my device I have created an endless winter, and no one is going to take that from me!"

"I hate to break it to you, but I just did." Trunks smirked. "Besides, there are people who are stuck on this planet because of your never ending blizzard."

Icicle scoffed. "Do you think I care? Please, I've had many people come here and they all wind up dead. That's what they get for coming to my home! It's like the old saying, if you can't handle the cold stay out of the freezer!" Not a second later he thrust both hands forward, sending out a chilling and icy wind.

Trunks crossed his arms over his face, shielding it from the wind. At first he found himself getting pushed back, but he was soon able to overcome the harsh wind. He then dashed forward and punched the man in the gut, stopping him in his tracks. The Super Saiyan then grabbed him and tossed him in the opposite direction.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Icicle flew through the cave before landing outside in the snow. As he picked himself up he noticed the snow storm was slowly coming to a stop. He grit his teeth before grinning, which was followed by several chuckles.

A few seconds later the half-Saiyan emerged from the cave, sporting a grin of his own. "If you surrender now I'll let you leave this planet."

The icy man continued laughing before standing up, and then he faced his opponent. "Do you really think I'll just give up?!" Another laugh escaped his mouth. "You really are a fool, and you're about to find out what happens when you mess with my winter!" A light blue aura surrounded his body.

"Oh yeah, and what are you-" He was cut off by a huge gust of wind hitting him.

All of the snow in the immediate area started to rise up, and it began swirling around Icicle's body. His screams once again filled the air, but it wasn't because he was getting tossed around. Suddenly the snow began sticking itself to his body, which started to grow in size. His height increased, and his rather skinny body started to develop muscle.

The Super Saiyan looked on in awe as the small man grew into a big monster, similar to those who tried to fight him earlier. _'I guess he was right about the harsh weather giving him power.'_

When all was said and done Icicle stood in a big circle of dirt. He was now three times taller, five times muscular, and was brimming with power. What was once light blue skin was now pure white, and his gentle face had been replaced with a more monstrous one. "Hahaha! The blizzard may have stopped, but I have absorbed more than enough snow and ice to increase my power. And now nothing will stop me!"

Trunks got into his stance, ready for a fight. He could sense that Icicle was much stronger than before, but that didn't really worry him. "We'll see about that." In an instant he leapt forward and socked the monster in the jaw, launching him back.

Icicle went skidding across the ground before stopping, and the snow beneath him started absorbing itself into his skin. A smirk came to his face as he stood up. "Not bad, but you'll have to do better than that!" The monster thrust his hand forward, unleashing another icy blast.

Moving quickly, the Saiyan dodged it. Right after doing so he noticed the snow monster was right in front of him, and he had no time to react to the fist that hit his face. He went flying back but was able to recover, just in time to block another punch. In a flash he rammed his fist into the monster's gut, and then struck him in the face yet again.

The snow monster recoiled before kneeing the warrior in the gut, stopping his momentum. He then gave the warrior an uppercut, knocking him away. His arms then increased in size as he placed them together, and it soon became that of a giant snow hammer. Raising the hammer up high, he chuckled as he brought it down hard. A satisfied grin came to his face as he watched his foe plummet into the hard ground below.

Trunks emerged from the fairly deep crater, feeling a little surprised by that display of strength. As he stood up he did a quick crack of a few joints before flying up to resume the battle. Despite that rather hard attack the half-Saiyan wasn't deterred.

"Coming back for more eh?" Icicle laughed as he dashed to meet his enemy.

Once the two met they both began assaulting one another with everything they had, throwing punches and kicks with speed and precision. Neither one had any kind of advantage, and both were giving it their all. Shockwaves exploded throughout the area, sounding like thunderclaps. Their struggling continued, and even more attacks were thrown, which were in turn blocked.

Eventually the Super Saiyan gained the upper hand when one of his kicks broke through his foe's defenses. A follow up elbow to the chest caused his opponent great pain, and a fist to the cheek caused even more. Several more jabs struck the snow monster in the gut, and he finished the combo with a hard kick to the jaw.

As his opponent was flying Trunks placed his hands out in front of him, making an orb of golden energy form. It gradually increased in size, eventually becoming the size of several medicine balls combined into one. Once ready he unleashed the orb of ki at his enemy, hitting him dead on.

A loud boom echoed throughout the battlefield, and it produced a huge shockwave as well. The thick shroud of smoke that followed lasted for a few moments before it slowly dissipated. Icicle's body was revealed, and what stood out the most was his right arm had been completely blown off. The snow monster held what remained of his appendage, all the while glaring daggers at the warrior.

"You brought this on yourself." Trunks told him.

Several deep breathes escaped Icicle's lips before he raised his remaining arm to the sky. Without warning a mass of clouds gathered above him, and with a wave of his hand it started hailing.

The half-Saiyan gasped lightly as the hail started falling toward him. Instinct took over and he brought his arms and legs in close to his body, and after a few moments he spread them out wide. An explosive wave of energy was unleashed from his body, and it obliterated all the hail that came his way.

Surprised at the display, the snow monster could only look on as his attack was shrugged off. His staring lasted for several moments before he ceased his hailstorm. "I swear I will destroy you, no matter what it takes!" Fueled by his anger, Icicle charged forward.

Growing tired of the fight, Trunks decided to put an end to it. He reached for his sword, and at just the right moment he un-sheathed it and made several quick but precise swings. When all was said and done he sheathed his weapon and turned back to face his foe.

Icicle was floating motionless in mid-air, unable to comprehend what happened. "I-impossible..." His body then started falling apart, due to all the clean cuts through his body. Soon enough he was reduced to nothing but chunks.

Trunks then unleashed an energy blast, engulfing all of the floating chunks whole. It lasted for a few seconds before he ceased firing, revealing nothing. He didn't want it to have to come to that, but he didn't have much of a choice. That man was bent on killing him, and there was no way of reasoning with him. He did what he had to. And with that taken care of he powered down out of Super Saiyan and set a course back to the research station.

* * *

"Trunks we can't thank you enough." Marie had been overjoyed to learn that the man responsible for the blizzard was gone. Did she wish he didn't die, well, maybe... but all she really cared about was getting herself and the remaining members of her crew home safe.

"Don't mention it, I was happy to help." He smiled.

"Well a deal's a deal." She said as she motioned over to the Power Stars.

The Saiyan walked over and touched them, sending them back to the Observatory. After that he turned to face her. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" It didn't feel right to just leave them in the now out of power station, even if the snow storm had been stopped.

She scoffed. "Don't worry, we're fine. We'll be sending out a signal shortly, and it will only be a matter of time before someone gets it."

He nodded. "I should get going, there are still a lot of Power Stars left to find." Right as he was about to leave he felt something grabbing his arm. He turned his head slightly, only to receive a kiss on his cheek.

Marie pulled away and winked at him. "Good luck."

With red cheeks Trunks left the room, ready to continue his journey.

* * *

That should just about do it. Sorry it took a bit, but you know how it goes with the holidays around the corner. This wasn't exactly a Christmas chapter but it was winter themed, so that's something. It was a little easier than Trunks' previous encounter, but that was to be expected. I know the bedroom isn't the next area you unlock in Super Mario Galaxy, but I changed it for story purposes. I might not get another chapter out before the end of the year, so I wish you all the happiest of holidays, whatever it is you celebrate!

FutureShock


	12. Highs and Lows

Chapter Twelve: Highs and Lows

"Ready Luigi?"

Luigi spared a quick glance at his brother, who looked more determined than he had seen in a while. He certainly couldn't blame him, as they were in quite the situation. Their rival Wario had returned stronger than ever, and the ensuing battle was even tougher. All of their attacks were shrugged off, even his own full power punch did little to the greedy man. Luckily he and his brother had some power-ups handy, but even then victory wasn't certain.

Mario was feeling a little nervous, even if he looked calm on the outside. By now he was no stranger to combat, having fought with both Bowser and Wario dozens of times... but this current brawl was different than the others. His rival was _way_ more powerful than before, and much faster too. Not to mention being able to shoot what looked like fireballs even without a Fire Flower. It didn't look good at the moment, but he wasn't about to quit now.

Meanwhile Wario was smirking to himself. In the past he would probably be in a lot of pain, and having to run away or hide. Well those days were over, and thanks to his training nobody would ever push him around again! "So are ya gonna fight or just-a stand there?"

Without warning Mario extended his right arm, launching a fireball out of his hand. It bounced along the ground with impressive speed, heading straight for his enemy. Just when it looked like it would hit his rival leapt into the air, avoiding it entirely.

"Nice try Mario! Maybe you should work on your aim!" The portly man laughed.

Clenching his fists tight, the red and white clad man looked over at his brother. "Let's-a-go Luigi!" He then ran forward, quickly breaking out into a sprint.

Not needing to be told twice Luigi followed his brother's lead. He and his brother ran forward, ready for the next round to start. He noticed their foe was still somehow hovering in the air, but for them that wouldn't be a problem. Once close enough he and his brother jumped high in the air, quickly reaching their foe's height.

Wario let out a chuckle as his opponents reached him. He saw the fireballs coming, but for him it was if they were moving in slow motion. As such he easily dodged the oncoming projectiles, laughing as he did so. He then moved to counterattack, striking the pair with both fists.

Faster than either brother could react they were both struck with hard punches, launching them straight into the ground. Both men hit the ground hard, and their bones began aching. Despite that they both got up, not wanting to just give up.

Suddenly the portly man appeared in front of them, sporting that big grin of his. Before either could react he dashed forward, catching them off guard. A hard kick to the stomach sent his red-hatted rival flying back, which was a pleasing sight to see. His eyes drifted over to the right where he noticed the other brother preparing to attack. Using all of his power he sent his right elbow into his foe's face, launching him backward.

A cry of pain escaped Luigi's mouth as he flew back from the impact. He eventually lost momentum and began rolling across the ground, causing even more pain. After a few moments he stopped entirely; now lying on the ground on his side. The green-hatted man felt pretty bruised, and his vision was getting a bit blurry. Despite that he knew what was at stake, and as such he willed himself to stand up.

Right as he was getting up he saw another ball of light heading his way, and he ducked underneath just in the nick of time. Not a moment after he came face to face with Wario... although in this case, it was face to gut. Reacting quickly he threw a few punches to the gut, which as expected didn't do anything. He then tried sweeping his foe's leg, but it just wouldn't budge.

Snickering, Wario grabbed his opponent by the collar and lifted him up, bringing him right into his face. About a second later he rammed his head into his enemy's head, hitting him square in the nose. The sight of his foe bleeding from his busted nose made him laugh. "You're nothing but a joke, thinking you could stand up to me. Everyone knows Mario is the real hero. You're just a coward hiding in his shadow, unfit to save the Mushroom Kingdom."

Angered by those words, Luigi clenched his fists tight. Gathering his strength he brought his left hand up, intent on striking the man. Right when his fist was about to hit his opponent's chin it was caught, surprising him.

"That punch of yours may be strong, but mine's stronger." To accentuate his point he did what his foe was intending to do, except his attack actually connected. A hearty laugh escaped his mouth as his foe's pained scream filled his ears. He watched with glee as the green-hatted man went up, and then landed on the ground with a hard thud. "And he's down!"

Luigi layed on the grassy field, feeling pretty weak. His jaw hurt the most, having nearly been broken by the attack. The rest of his body ached, both from the blows he received earlier and from falling on the ground just now. He wanted to get back up, to continue fighting, but he wasn't sure he could. To top it off the effects of the Fire Flower wore off, leaving him powerless.

From a far Wario looked at the sight with a big smile. "Hm, should I continue to beat him up or should I just end him." He paused for a few moments, just wanting to see if his opponent would return to the battle. Several moments went by and his foe hadn't moved. "Well, it-a looks like he's out, so I guess I'll-a finish him."

With his mind made up the greedy man held out a palm and aimed it at the downed man. Energy began forming in his palm, which soon coalesced into a rapidly expanding ball. After a few seconds he had created a big sphere, capable of destroying the downed man. Another snicker escaped him as he fired his projectile.

Satisfied with what was happening, Wario crossed his arms over his chest. His vision soon became obstructed by a huge cloud of smoke, which was accompanied by a loud boom. He laughed in triumph, as he knew the weakling couldn't have survived that blast. His laughter continued even as the smoke died down, but once it did his laughing ceased.

Standing in the way of the blast was Mario, who looked completely unscathed, as if he hadn't even been hit by it. There was something different about him though, as his body kept changing between colors rapidly.

"Ah I see, yes, I know what's-a goin' on here. You used a Power Star to protect yourself from my attack, and then you sprinted over here to save your brother. I must say I'm impressed, but you'll need more than that to stop me."

A scowl formed on Mario's face, as he knew what his foe said was true. While the Power Star granted invulnerability and increased speed it did have a time limit, and it was rather short. Seconds passed before the effects wore off, and now Mario stood powerless in front of his injured brother.

"Aw your Power Star ran out. Too bad, you really needed that."

The red-clad man spared a glance at his brother, and then turned back to face his rival. He continued glaring before a devious smirk came to his face. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a green hat similar to his own. Upon placing it on his head his whole body became covered in metal.

Wario noticed this and snorted. "Do you really think a Metal Cap will be enough to save you?"

"I'm-a ready if you are!"

* * *

Deep within a jungle Trunks flew, having reached the dense forest not too long ago. The planet he was on now was lush with vegetation, and full of life. He could hear the distant sounds of a waterfall, as well as the various animals making noise. The sun was shining brightly, and it was actually pretty mild out. It would certainly make for a good vacation spot, but he didn't have time for such things.

His eyes were narrowed with determination as his senses guided him to what he assumed was a village full of people. Without his scouter he had no idea where the Power Stars were, or if there were any on the planet to begin with. So he figured he would seek out civilization and ask them about it, and he only hoped they both knew what Power Stars were and where he could find them.

 _'There has to be someway to locate these things without a scouter.'_ Unfortunately he wasn't sure if there was a way, and if there was one he didn't know what it was. At some point he would try and figure this out, but for now he would stick to his plan.

His senses told him he was getting closer to his destination, and a feeling in his gut told him something was up. The half-Saiyan could feel several different energies, some higher than others, and some more evil than others. It may have just been his battle instincts talking, but he still felt the need to be ready.

A few moments later the Saiyan reached a clearing in the dense jungle, and came across a simple looking village. The buildings were all dome shaped, and seemed to be made out of basic metal. Some were larger than others, but for the most part they were the same. The only thing that stood out were the three space pods on the outskirts of the village, which didn't seem to have always been there.

Right away he knew his hunch was correct. He noticed a bunch of people wearing simple clothing, with all of them having a similar light orange skin tone. They were huddled together, as if trying to protect one another. Only one wasn't part of the huddle, and was standing in the very front.

On the opposite side were three aliens who clearly weren't residents. What gave them away were their matching sets of armor, and the scouters on their faces. They had to be soldiers of Lord Plum, which made the Saiyan wonder if they knew Plum was dead. If not then they were in for quite a surprise, but if they did then that would be more troubling. The last thing the universe needed was another tyrant, especially if they were as strong, or stronger, than Plum or Frieza.

"I'm only gonna say this one more time, hand over the Power Stars!" The big, reptilian alien commanded as he pointed his arm cannon at the scared villagers.

One villager, who was much bigger and bulkier than the others, cast a defiant glare at the invaders. "We will never surrender our Power Stars to you. Now leave this place before I have to hurt you!"

In response to that threat all three invaders laughed loudly, which unnerved pretty much everyone in the village. They kept on laughing for several moments, unable to help themselves. After a few more seconds they stopped.

"Since you refuse to cooperate I think I'll just take care of you right now." The lead alien aimed his weapon at the foolish man's head, ready to blast a hole in it. Right as he was about to fire a blast struck his weapon, destroying it instantly.

Everyone turned to the source, and saw a man with a sword strapped to his back.

"What the?" Having been distracted by the destruction of his weapon, his attention was taken away from the man he was about to kill. As such, he was helpless to defend himself from the punch to the face, which sent him flying back a bit.

The warrior didn't stop there, and the other two invaders were still in an off-guard state. Taking advantage he lunged forward and delivered a powerful strike to the one on the left, making them recoil in pain. Not a moment later though he was kicked in the ribs hard, bringing him to his knees.

Before the alien could make another move he was kicked right in the face, launching him deep into the jungle.

Trunks landed in front of the downed warrior and held out a hand to help him up.

"Behind you!"

The Saiyan had already been aware of oncoming sneak attack, and was already prepared to counter. Faster than anyone could see he turned around and socked the invader in the cheek, propelling him backward with a loud scream.

The leader of the assault rubbed his bruised face, and as he was doing so he noticed his men had been taken care of. Panic started settling in as the newcomer slowly approached him. Whoever he was he managed to easily beat his men, and a feeling in his gut told him he was next. "S-stay back!"

"If you surrender now I won't hurt you." Trunks promised as he stopped several feet away from the cowering soldier.

Clenching his fists tight, the alien glared up at the man. "Y-you fool! You have no idea what you're up against. I work for Lord Plum, the most powerful being in the universe! When he finds out you killed his men he'll-"

"He's dead."

"What?!"

"I fought Plum at his base and defeated him, but it seems there are still people out there who haven't realized this yet."

There was a pause as the invader just stared at the man in shock, unsure whether or not to believe his claims. On the one hand it would explain why he couldn't make contact with anyone on Frieza Planet 68, but on the other hand he knew that nobody could ever defeat Lord Plum... yet maybe the man was telling the truth.

Seeing the confusion on the alien's face, Trunks let out a sigh. "You can believe me or not, I don't really care, but what I do care about are these villagers. Now I'll say this again, leave this planet and never return."

As much as the soldier wanted to tell the man he was wrong, and to attack him for even making such a ridiculous claim, he decided against it. His survival instincts told him to get the hell out of there while he could. Besides, if Lord Plum really was dead then there would be no consequences for running away.

"...Fine, I'll leave." He slowly stood up and made his way to his pod. Before entering it though he stopped and turned to face the man. "I still don't believe you, but I guess I'll find the truth out for myself." With that done he entered the small ship and the hatch closed behind him, and a few moments later his ship took off into the atmosphere.

Once the invader was gone Trunks smiled lightly before turning back to the villagers. "Are you alright?" They looked pretty unharmed, but he just wanted to be sure.

The warrior of the tribe locked eyes with the sword-wielding man. "Yes we're fine. I might have been able to hold them off, but if you hadn't shown up we all could have died." As much as he prided himself in his strength he knew that the fight could have ended badly for him, mostly because it was three on one. Luckily he and his tribe survived, and he only suffered minor injuries.

"No problem. I couldn't just stand there and let them torment you."

"Well we all thank you for the help, and we would be honored if you would join us in a feast tonight."

Trunks saw the smile on the man's face, as well as the smiles of the rest of the tribe. While he was still looking for the Power Stars he saw no harm in joining them. Not only because they apparently knew where they were, but also because he was feeling hungry. "I'd love to."

A smile came to the man's face in response. "Wonderful." He then held out his hand. "By the way, I'm Yarzon."

"Trunks." The half-Saiyan introduced as he shook the man's hand.

"Well Trunks, come make yourself at home."

* * *

Bowser walked through the halls of the ship, looking for the man in charge. It had been several weeks since he agreed to join up with the metal man, and it had been a crazy few weeks. So many things about the ship were different than what he was used to. Everything was metallic, and there were almost always robots walking around. It certainly contrasted with the grassy fields of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Luckily he seemed to be a bit of a low priority. For the most part he was left alone in his designated quarters, except for the times where he would be questioned a little more about the Power Stars. And aside from servants bringing him food they usually just ignored him, having more important things to do. It was a bit of a change being low on the pyramid so to speak, but considering who was in charge he certainly wasn't in a position to complain.

That being said, the Koopa wanted to speak to the metallic leader. He had been promised his revenge against Mario, but as far as he knew nothing was being done about that. Again, he couldn't really complain about that, but he still wanted to know what was going on.

He continued walking down the halls, with his heavy footsteps echoing as he walked. Occasionally he would see robots walking around, or working on something important. There was one to his right who appeared to be welding something, and since the Koopa still had trouble finding his way he stopped to ask the worker. "You there!"

The robot stopped and turned to face the one who addressed him. "How can I help you?"

 _'I don't think I'll get used to their voices.'_ He mused to himself. "I'm looking for the boss, where can I find him?"

"Go all the way down the hall, take a right, and then a left, and then take another right."

Bowser smirked. "Thanks." Now with a sense of direction he resumed walking.

A few minutes later and the Koopa reached his destination. Pushing a button on the wall activated the door, allowing him entry. As he walked in he saw the metallic man, the same man responsible for wiping out his army and killing his son. It was still a little frightening being in the same room, but he was beginning to overcome said fear.

He walked a few feet before getting down on one knee. "My lord." He greeted.

"What do you want Bowser?"

"I mean no disrespect, my lord... but when are we going to the Mushroom Kingdom to kill Mario?"

There was a pause before the metallic man turned to face his newer minion. "Tell me, have you been enjoying your stay aboard my ship?"

"O-of course my lord!" While it may not have been his preferred living arrangements he was still able to find comfort on the ship... plus he wasn't about to openly complain about it in front of that monster.

"And haven't my servants treated you well, and gave you what you asked for?"

"Yes."

A scowl quickly formed on the tyrant's face. "So why come here and complain to me?" He whipped his metallic tail on the ground, denting the metal underneath him.

Now feeling foolish for even entering the door, Bowser started trembling. It wasn't often his new leader became angry, but when he did bad things happened. And the last thing he wanted was to get thrown through a wall, or have any of his bones broken. "F-forgive me l-lord, b-but I just... well you agreed to help me defeat Mario, and I just wanted to-" He stopped when he heard the metal man laugh.

"Let me ask you a question. Why have you not already defeated Mario? You seem strong, and I hear you can breath fire, so why have you not killed him yet?"

"I don't know. I'm stronger, bigger, and more powerful than he is... but every time we fight he just seems to beat me." There was one edge his rival had over him, and that was speed. And sure, being slower than his rival may not have helped the Koopa, but everything else should have made up for that.

There was a pause as the metallic man stood there in contemplation. "Hm, I see..." A few more moments passed before he spoke up. "Here's how things stand. Your information on the Power and Grand Stars has been most helpful to my cause, but we haven't found any yet. My top priority are these Stars... and also beating that miserable Saiyan! Now, I said I will help you and I intend to, but your little quarrel is none of my concern at the moment. Am I clear?"

Unfortunately as much as Bowser wanted to protest he couldn't, simply because he was too weak. So all he could do was accept those terms and be grateful that he wasn't harmed in any way. "Yes my lord." Besides, the wait would be worth it when he finally stood over Mario's corpse.

"Good, now leave!"

Not needing to be told twice the Koopa bolted up and ran back the way he came.

As soon as the door shut the metal man let out a small sigh. _'That one sure is eager for revenge, much like myself. Too bad he's a total weakling; probably not even capable of beating up Guldo.'_ As these thoughts lingered in his mind an idea came to him, which could solve a few of his current problems. "It's still untested, but if we can get it to work then I could have an even bigger army. Of course I'll need a test subject, and I think I have the perfect candidate."

* * *

Trunks sat around the campfire, being surrounded by all of the villagers. True to the village leader's words, there was a pretty big feast happening. In his hands currently was a bowl of rice and meat, and there was plenty for everyone, even enough to have seconds. The food was very tasty, and although he tried to eat sensibly his Saiyan nature had taken over and he practically shoved the food into his mouth.

Everyone else appeared to be having a good time as well, which may have been helped by the fact that none of them died today. Even without the earlier attack they still would have had a fun night. Nothing brought the tribe together like a good feast. Having a big meal, sharing stories, dancing, or just sitting around and enjoying the ambiance. Either way it was looking to be a good time.

Sitting next to the Saiyan was the village leader, who was busy enjoying his own bowl. He took another bite before turning toward the hero. "Enjoying the food Trunks?" He asked with a slight smirk.

The half-Saiyan looked over to the man, while the left side of his mouth was stuffed. He quickly swallowed before answering. "Yeah this is really tasty." His travels through space had been fun, but there didn't seem to be many opportunities to stop and rest. So it was nice to be able to relax and enjoy a nice hot meal.

"Yes, we have some good cooks among our tribe." He then put his chopsticks down and rotated his body slightly to be facing the warrior always. "Now you mentioned collecting Power Stars? Tell me, what are you planning to do with them?"

"Well they aren't exactly for me. See there's this girl named Rosalina who watches over the universe in her Comet Observatory, which is powered by the Power Stars. They were stolen from her and I promised to get them back for her." He explained, feeling unsure of what the man would reply.

Yarzon took that bit of information in, all the while trying to find any deceit in Trunks' words. After a few moments a smile came to his face. "That is very noble of you, and I sense no deception in your words."

"So does this mean you'll give me your Power Stars?"

"Of course, it's the least we can do for you. Besides, they aren't really much use to us, and if any more invaders show up we can just tell them to leave." Yarzon stated.

Trunks smiled at the man. He was grateful that they were willing to part with the Power Stars, and he was especially glad that they believed him. Of course was telling the truth, but for all they knew he was making up stuff to take their possessions. Luckily everything was going his way, and unless some kind of monster showed up it was looking to be an easy recovery.

* * *

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed throughout the field as Mario ran toward his opponent. Now dawning a metal cap, he was faster, stronger, and could better stand up to attacks. There was also the added benefit of being able to survive underwater, but for now he was focusing on the other aspects. He had no idea if being Metal Mario would be enough to stop Wario, but it was his best chance.

On Wario's part he was actually getting a little excited. He had never gone up against Mario with the Metal Cap on, as it had never been necessary before. Now though the greedy man was the stronger of the two, and so far had been completely dominating his rival. It wasn't much fun without his rival putting up a fight, and now he had one. Being Metal might not make a difference in the end, but it would at least make things interesting.

A few moments passed before the gap between them had been closed, and once it had Metal Mario made his move. He quickly threw a punch, hitting his rival square in his big gut. Seeing his foe hunch over made him smirk, even if his mouth was covered, as it told him that he was now strong enough to stand up to his rival.

That successful attack was followed up with a second punch to the gut, and then another, and then another. After a couple more blows the metal man switched his focus to a different area, which he did by ramming his metallic fist into his opponent's jaw. As his foe reeled back he jumped up slightly and kicked forward with both feet, sending his rival back several feet.

Metal Mario watched as his opponent hit the ground, but he only paused for a brief second before rushing back into the fight. Just because he had won that little encounter didn't mean the fight was over, and he certainly didn't want Wario recovering.

In mid-stride he stopped when he saw a ball of light heading his way. Reacting quickly Mario crossed his arms over his face, hoping it would be enough to shield himself from the blast. It struck his makeshift defense with a loud boom, shrouding him in smoke. It was quickly revealed that he was fine, thanks to his metal coated body. But just when it seemed like he was in the clear he found himself getting punched in the face.

"Ya caught me off guard there for a second, but the battle isn't over yet!" Wario grinned as he noticed his rival getting up. "You may be stronger, faster, and tougher, but I'm-a still superior to you in every way."

Undeterred by that threat, and unwilling to give up, Metal Mario once again dashed toward his enemy. As he ran he could see his rival charging at him, but he didn't falter. A few seconds later and they were right in front of one another. Getting in the first strike, the metal man threw a fist into his foe's face.

Wario recoiled slightly before delivering a punch of his own, and despite him hitting metal he still managed to do some damage. He then threw a few more blows, taking control of the battle. It was strangely satisfying hearing his fists make impact against the metal, but he figured it was because it meant he was in control. A couple more fists followed before he planted his boot in his rival's stomach, sending him back several feet.

The previous impact had sent Metal Mario flying, but he was quick to recover. He used the momentum to go into a reverse roll, and as such made it back to his feet. Once he did he barely had time to put up his guard, and only just managed to block the oncoming fist. The metal man tried to counter with a punch, but his fist was caught before it could make impact.

Grinning like a mad man, Wario pulled his opponent in closer. At the same time he socked the metal man in his cheek. He threw a few more punches before stopping. "This is just too easy."

In response to that Mario reeled his head back before slamming it straight into Wario's big nose. The grip on his hand had released, and all the while he could hear the pained screams of his enemy. Some blood landed on him, having flown out of the nose, but he didn't care. Most importantly it gave him an opportunity to counter, which he did by jumping up and ramming his fist into his foe's jaw.

As his rival staggered back Metal Mario ran forward, leapt into the air, and kicked him as hard as he could with both feet. His attack knocked the portly man off his feet and onto the ground. That was followed up by the metal man jumping up once again, but this time he landed on his foe.

"Ugh!" The portly man cried out as all of that weight came crashing down on him; he may have had a big gut to take the impact, but it still hurt. More pain would follow as he was repeatedly punched in the face. Even with his increased power and strength being hit by metal-coated fists still hurt.

After a couple more hits Wario had had enough. Calling upon his power, he unleashed a omni-directional burst of energy. A satisfied smirk came to his face as his rival was blown off of him. Had his rival not been coated in metal he would have gone further, but since the desired effect happened it didn't matter.

Metal Mario got back to his feet, and right as he did a ball of light hit his stomach. That wasn't too bad, but another one soon struck him. He quickly found himself getting hit by a barrage of blasts, with each one hitting a different part of him. He tried to ignore it and continue the fight, but it was hard to move with the blasts pushing against him.

Chuckles of delight escaped Wario's mouth as he kept on firing. It was amusing seeing his rival trying to gain some ground, only to be pushed back. Soon enough a thick cloud of smoke formed, shrouding his opponent. Despite not being able to see he kept up the onslaught, as he knew his blasts were hitting their mark.

A couple more seconds passed before Wario ceased firing, mostly because he needed to catch his breath. Several deep breathes exited his mouth as he watched the recently formed cloud start to disperse. "Hehe, let's see him-a survive that."

Not a moment later Metal Mario came out of the smoke, once again charging at his foe. If he had been effected by the blasts he certainly didn't show it, which may have been helped by his metal-covered body. Still, he had plenty of fight left in him, and he was ready to step back in.

Wario wasted no time in dashing forward, closing the gap between them in seconds. Now in range he threw a flurry of punches, hitting his rival all over the upper-body. That continued for several moments before he kicked the metal man in the face, launching him backward. A purple aura then engulfed his body as he flew to pursue.

While his rival was in mid-air Wario continued pelting him with punches and kicks, not letting up for a second. His opponent may have had a good defense, but that just meant he needed to use more power. After a while he grabbed the metal man by his neck and slammed him into the ground hard. As his opponent lay embedded within the ground he ascended higher in the air.

Floating high above his rival, the greedy man held out one of his palms. Another ball of energy formed, but this one was much bigger. It continued expanding in size, and all the while he was laughing. "This should-a finish him!" Once it was bigger than his head he launched it straight downward.

It hit the area where Metal Mario was, and as a result generated a huge explosion. The ground shook violently as flames and smoke filled the air. Harsh winds blew in every direction, making the nearby trees sway. Bits and pieces of rock flew everywhere, having been loosened by the explosion. As for the area of impact it had been completely destroyed, leaving behind only a crater.

Wario watched the dust cloud dissipate, and once it was gone he noticed a glorious sight. His rival was lying deep within the recently formed crater, and by the looks of it he wasn't getting up any time soon. "Well look at that." What also stood out was that Mario had gone back to normal, having lost his power.

Landing within the crater, the portly man lightly kicked his rival. There was no kind of reaction, making him laugh loudly in triumph. "Hahahahaha! I finally defeated the Mario Brothers!" His outburst continued, even if no one was around to hear it.

All of those humiliating defeats, and the constant shame of being weak, it was all gone. How he hated getting beaten by Mario, and to a lesser extent Luigi, over and over again. Everything was different now though. Now Wario had all the power, and just using a little bit was enough to win. His rival was on the brink of death, and Luigi was fairing no better. It truly was a glorious day, and he hadn't even cleaned things up yet.

"You gave it your all, but it wasn't good enough. Hm, now what do I do with you?" He asked to no one as he inspected the body. "It doesn't look like you'll be continuing this fight, so I guess I'll just-"

A loud crash soon occurred, disturbing the natural silence of the golf course. The source was a space pod, similar to the one Wario had shown up to the planet in. A few seconds later the hatch opened up, and out walked someone. It was an alien with deep purple skin, with lots of white spots over their arms and head. Said alien wore the traditional armor of Lord Plum's armies, and judging by the look on his face he didn't seem happy.

Wario walked out of the crater, curious as to what that was. As he stepped back on solid ground he noticed who had come, and the sight made him gasp in shock.

"There you are Wario." The alien noted as he walked over to his fellow soldier.

"Uh, h-hello Gr-grape." He gave a nervous salute to his comrade.

Grape narrowed his eyes at the shorter man. "So this is where you ran off to; you know Lord Plum wasn't too happy about that."

After receiving his training, and his armor, Wario had been assigned to a team in order to take planets for Lord Plum. While that was all well and good he had only been interested in beating Mario and Luigi. So, when the opportunity arose, he took a space pod and headed straight for the Mushroom Kingdom. He planned to return to Lord Plum _after_ getting his revenge, and he figured his new leader wouldn't have minded.

"W-well, I didn't mean t-to disobey hi-"

"Do you know what happens to those who don't follow orders?" Grape took a few steps forward, but paused when his scouter started beeping. Curious as to who was contacting him he pressed the button on the side. "Yes? No, I've been tracking... what?! You mean Lord Plum is really dead?"

As his fellow soldier was talking Wario slowly started backing away, trying to be sneaky in his exit. His power was smaller than Grape's, and while he probably could've stayed and fought he would much rather run while he had the chance. And even though he hadn't killed his rival yet he valued his own life more. Besides, once he successfully ran he could come back and finish the job.

"Alright well when you get there be sure to let me know." With the conversation over he returned his focus on the task at hand. "Now then..." His face went blank when he noticed Wario had fled the scene.

Grumbling to himself, he put his scouter to use by tracking the deserter down. He had never liked Wario, as he found him dishonest and un-trustworthy. Grape wanted that smarmy man gone, and figured one loss couldn't hurt the empire. Once he found the coward he smirked and took off. "I'm really going to enjoy this!"

* * *

I think I'll end it off here. Now I know there wasn't much Trunks in this chapter but I figured focusing on how everyone else was doing was more important. I wanted to give him an easy adventure this time, which can give me time to think of other scenarios for the planets he lands on, as well as his scouter dilemma(but I have plans for that). As far as Metal Mario is concerned, I don't think he would have won even with all he has going for him, and I removed the time limit and made the power-up last until a severe amount of damage is done to the wearer. Wario finally beat the Mario Brothers but now faces a fellow soldier with a grudge, and Bowser isn't much closer to his goal. I once again tried to keep the metal man's identity a secret, but I'm sure it's obvious. Be sure to R&R and have a wonderful day.

FutureShock


	13. Liars and Stealers

Chapter Thirteen: Liars and Stealers

Trunks once again found himself flying through the endless void of space, having gotten pretty used to it by now. It wasn't getting boring though, as even though it could be slow there was a lot to look at. All of the stars, planets, and various other celestial bodies made the trips somewhat enjoyable. At least he didn't have to rely on his ship.

A frown came to his face as he thought more about his situation, which he had plenty of time to do. His Scouter was gone, and without it the Saiyan had no easy way of locating the Power Stars. He had gotten lucky the first time, and the most recent time, but he doubted that his luck would continue. After all, what were the chances of him finding another Power Star on the very next planet he visited?

His brow furrowed as he contemplated a solution. There weren't any coming to mind though, which was a little worrying. His chances of getting another Scouter were slim, as he would have to run into one of Plum's soldiers... if there were any left. That's not to say that was the only way to obtain a Scouter, but he wasn't sure what other way there was.

Although... maybe he wouldn't even need a Scouter. After all, Trunks had the ability to sense the energy of living beings. Unfortunately he wasn't sure if he could even sense the Power Stars. They weren't exactly alive, but they still had to give off some kind of energy, although it was probably pretty faint if he hadn't noticed yet. Then again, he hadn't really been trying to sense them, or again he just didn't notice. Well, on the next planet he would try and sense them.

 _'Too bad I don't know what I'm searching for.'_ The half-Saiyan only hoped that there wouldn't be much life on the next planet, as that would only make his test that much harder. Either way he was determined to figure this out, and if everything worked out he would feel a little more confident. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a planet close by, and thus made that his destination. Using more of his energy the half-Saiyan sped toward the planet. It looked pretty hospitiable, as it loosely resembled Earth, but he was hoping there wouldn't be too many people living there.

A few minutes later Trunks reached the planet's atmosphere, and once he entered that he searched for a suitable location to land. He caught sight of a plateau, in the middle of some kind of barren wasteland. That suited his needs, and so he set a course to land. Gradually he let his speed drop, and then gently set foot on the rocky surface.

Trunks stood on the natural pillar, with a harsh wind blowing through his hair, which had gotten much longer during his adventure. _'At some point I may have to get a haircut.'_ That was the least of his concerns, and it's not like he minded having super long hair.

"Alright well, I guess it's time to get started." The half-Saiyan exhaled before taking a seat, and once he was sitting he closed his eyes. Now in a meditative position he extended his senses far. Where he currently was didn't have much life to speak of, but there were definitely some kind of life forms on the planet. It wasn't the perfect scenario, but he would accept it.

More deep breathes escaped his mouth as he concentrated. Unfortunately, while the half-Saiyan could sense some pretty far off beings, he had no idea if any of them were Power Stars. Had he taken a moment to at least try and sense any of the Stars he had collected so far he would have saved himself all of this trouble, but alas he hadn't had the forethought.

His eyes reopened as he put a hand to his chin. "Hm, there has to be someway to..." A realization then struck him, and he felt a little silly for not thinking of it sooner. "Luma can you hear me?"

Suddenly Luma flew out of the Saiyan and then turned to face him. "What is it Trunks?"

"Just stay there for a second." He instructed.

Luma did just that.

With a slight smirk the half-Saiyan began feeling out his companion's energy. There was no guarantee that a Power Star would have the same ki signature as a Luma, but it was worth a shot. They were both stars after all, and it was the only thing he had to go on at the moment.

It didn't take long for him to get a feel for Luma's ki, and once he had it he was ready to resume his search. Now having an idea of what to search for, the Saiyan tried hard to find a similar ki signature. Several moments went by but he found nothing, which made him frown. Maybe he couldn't sense Power Stars, or maybe there weren't any on the planet, which would mean there would be no way to test his theory.

Not a moment later his eyes shot open. It was faint, but he could definitely feel a few energy signatures, and they were almost identical to Luma's. There was also another energy signature, but it was much further away.

Now having a location Trunks instantly dashed off of the plateau. A white flame engulfed his body as he built up his speed. Luckily it didn't seem like it was that far away, and with the speed he was traveling at it wouldn't take him long to reach them. It was just a shame that there wasn't much in terms of scenery, as everything around him was rocky and barren.

At one point though the environment began to vary, and the wasteland gave way to lush green grass. Trees were also present, and there seemed to be thousands of them. In the distance the sound of flowing water could be heard, which belonged to a nearby waterfall. A couple of birds had been chirping rather loudly, but they stopped and flew away as the warrior flew by.

The half-Saiyan wasn't paying much to attention to his surroundings though, as he was focused on finding out if he truly was heading toward a Power Star. He had a good feeling about it though, but he was prepared for the worst. Having something not work out in his favor was nothing new to him, and as such he was ready for a possible disappointment.

After another minute or two Trunks came closer to his destination, which seemed to be on the outskirts of the forest. As he drew closer he made out an object in the distance. It looked like some kind of spaceship, but not quite the same as the ships he had seen. This one was more elongated, and flatter. It was pretty much the exact opposite of his own.

"Whatever I'm sensing must be inside of that ship." He noted as his feet touched down a few feet away from it. "Now I just need to-"

"Well isn't this a nice surprise?"

Turning around, the Saiyan caught sight of a lavender-skinned woman with very light blue hair. She had long black boots that went up to her knee, covering most of her olive pants. Her upper body was covered by a plain white shirt, with the right sleeve going down to her elbow, and the other was cut off entirely. Completing her look was a scar running down her right eye.

Said woman had a gun pointed at him. "I leave my ship for ten minutes and somebody tries to steal it."

"I'm not trying to steal your ship." He explained.

"A likely story." She said as she prepared to squeeze the trigger.

Trunks wasn't too worried about getting shot, but he didn't want to fight her. So he kept his calm demeanor. "Look there's something in your ship that I need, so can you-" In an instant the half-Saiyan raised his arm, deflecting the laser bolt that had just been shot at him.

The woman gasped, having not expected him to be quick enough to avoid a shot at pretty much point blank range. _'He's more powerful than he lets on.'_

"As I was saying, there's something I really need and it's inside of your ship. If you let me have it I'll leave you alone."

"Oh yeah, and how can I trust you... and how the hell do you know it's in my ship?"

At this point the half-Saiyan realized he was probably sounding a bit crazy, but this hadn't been the first time. Had he still had his Scouter he could have just pointed to it, but again that wasn't the case. And so he had to tell her how he knew, which probably wouldn't go well. "Um, well I sensed it..."

She stared at him blankly for a few moments before narrowing her eyes at him. "While I am familiar with being able to sense things I know it only works on living beings, and I have none inside of my ship."

"What about a Power Star?" He asked.

"Power Star..." For a moment her eyes went a little wide, but then they returned to their former position. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I told you, I don't want any trouble. Just give me the Power Stars and I promise to leave you alone."

Since there was no use in hiding it anymore, the woman shifted her position into a battle stance. "Sorry but those Power Stars are valuable, and I won't let you ruin my chance to get payed."

A big sigh escaped the half-Saiyan's mouth, and he realized there was only one way to handle it. If she didn't want to things peacefully he would just have to use a little force... he certainly wouldn't kill her, but that didn't mean he couldn't use a little bit of his power. Besides, he was clearly stronger than her, so it probably wouldn't take much to make her surrender.

And so Trunks got into his own stance, and his eyes locked with hers. In an instant he dashed forward, ready to take her down quickly yet painlessly. His left fist extended forward... only to hit the woman's palm. He gasped lightly at the scene.

"I had a feeling." She smirked before swinging her right leg, attempting a sweep. Her opponent jumped back though, avoiding her counter. "As I said, I'm aware of your ability to sense, because I can do so as well."

"And it would seem you know how to defend yourself." The Saiyan smirked.

She smirked also. "I guess you could say it's my job. I'm a bit of a hired contractor, a mercenary if you will, Zara's the name. I've been hired dozens of times, so I've picked up a few moves here and there. If you want to survive in the universe you have to be strong, and anyone who's weak dies."

"Trust me, you don't know anything about strength. My whole life was a nightmare, and I had to fight and struggle everyday just to survive."

"Well then show me what you can do." Zara taunted before sprinting toward her foe. In a matter of seconds she was directly in front of him, and not a moment later she went on the offensive. Her speed was impressive, as her fists just kept on flying. None of her attacks broke through her foe's defenses though, but that didn't discourage her.

On the other side Trunks was blocking the flurry of blows being thrown at him. He had to admit that she had a lot of intensity, even if her hits weren't connecting. His arms moved just as quickly to block her strikes, and he had to admit it was a pretty good workout. This continued before he moved to counter.

One moment Zara was throwing a series of punches, and the next she was hit hard in her stomach. In an instant her momentum died, and she found herself temporarily unable to move. Soon after she was socked square in the nose, and she was hit hard enough to go flying backwards. She hit the ground rolling and only stopped after multiple rotations. In spite of the painful blow the mercenary stood up, and then rubbed the spot underneath her nose, and she noticed the blood on her finger. "That's quite a punch... but you won't get lucky again!"

"That wasn't luck." The half-Saiyan grinned.

Fuming slightly she once again charged at her enemy. Right when she was a few feet away she changed course, doing so at such a speed that she appeared to be nothing but a blur. In no time at all she went from in front of to behind her foe. A smirk came to her face as she leapt forward, intent on kicking him in the back of the head.

Right as she was about to make contact her opponent bent forward, making her sail right over his head. Zara continued her flight before landing on the ground with a roll. After coming out of the roll she turned around, and she barely raised her arms in time to block the oncoming punch. The resulting shockwave shook her lightly, but she held firm.

Another punch was thrown by the Saiyan, and again his foe's guard didn't break. More and more strikes were made, each with a little more power than the last. It took a couple of hits, but one of his blows managed to tear down her defense. As such his fist struck her in the cheek hard.

Zara went flying back a bit but managed to stop herself from going too far. She didn't have much time to recover though, as her opponent was coming right at her. Reacting quickly she jumped high into the air, just barely avoiding a collision. Unlike last time she didn't come back down.

Trunks touched down on the ground and turned to face her.

"Oh I didn't just learn how to sense for ki, I learned how to use it!" She accentuated her exclamation by firing a bright-pink beam of energy at her foe.

With a wave of his arm he easily deflected her blast, and then countered with one of his own. His blast had been dodged though, which he had anticipated. Not a moment later he fazed out of sight. He reappeared behind his opponent, catching her a little off guard.

Despite being taken by surprise Zara was able to get her defenses up in time. She managed to block his attack, and then she countered with one of her own. Her strike was also blocked, and so she instinctively brought her other arm up for another block.

Both fighters were now relentlessly attacking one another, exchanging blows at a rapid fire pace. Their fists were moving so fast that they appeared to be blurs. Neither fighter had an advantage; both were on equal footing. Punch, block, punch, it just kept repeating.

At one point the mercenary managed to get a good strike in, which was thanks to her surprise kick to his ribs. She then swung the same leg again, but this time she aimed for his head. The front of her foot slammed into the side of her foe's head, sending him flying off to the left. She then wasted no time in firing a small barrage of ki blasts at his prone body.

A smirk came to her face as she stared at the cloud of dust. "He certainly has skill, but there's no way he can beat me."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Her eyes widened a bit when she heard his voice, and soon after she could see his body once again. Other than some tears in his clothing he was fine, and this surprised her. "My aren't you durable. I put a good amount of power into those, and yet you survived them."

"I'll give you one last chance to surrender." Trunks told her calmly.

"Ha! Just because you're a little tough doesn't mean I'll give up."

The half-Saiyan let out a sigh, as he realized there was one thing he could do to end the fight for good. His eyes narrowed with determination before he quickly raised his power. In an instant his hair spiked upwards, and the lavender changed to a golden color. His eyes went from black to teal as well. And his body was engulfed by a brilliant golden aura, almost as if he were on fire.

Zara paused, all the while staring at her opponent with wide eyes. "Y-your p-power..." She felt the sudden increase in power, and she didn't like it. Earlier she had suspected that he was holding back, and she horrified to have been proven right. And while she figured he was hiding his real power she didn't think there would be so much of it. The kind of power she was sensing was unreal.

"You said you can sense energy right, well I'm sure you can tell how powerful I just became. Now unless you want to see how you compare you'll stop fighting." The Super Saiyan warned.

As much as she hated to admit it, she knew she couldn't beat him. If she were to try and challenge him it wouldn't end well, so she had no choice. In her line of work she knew when to back down, and this was unfortunately one of those times. Her face contorted into a frown. "Fine... I know when to quit. But before he get down to business I'd like to know your name."

"The name's Trunks." He answered as his aura faded, making his hair seem more blonde now. And just because she had given up didn't mean he would let his guard down, hence why he was still remaining a Super Saiyan.

"Well Trunks, I guess I have no choice but to hand over the Power Stars." She didn't sound too thrilled about it, but again she had little choice in the matter.

"First I have a question."

A sigh escaped Zara's mouth as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What is it?"

"Why are you even after the Power Stars anyway, or did you just find them and not know what they are?"

"I was hired to find these Power Stars by whatever means necessary, and I'm being paid quite handsomely." The mercenary explained.

"So who hired you?" He only really wanted to know because it could possibly help him in his own search, if only to know who else was looking for the Power Stars. Sure he would only have a name, but that would still be helpful.

Despite the circumstances she glared at him. "I don't have to tell you that, and consider what I just told you the only information you'll be getting out of me."

While he had no real reason to press her on it he was genuinely curious, and there was the possibility that it could be somewhat useful. So he narrowed his eyes at her. "If you don't want to tell me willingly, I can always use a little force."

Not wanting to get into a fight with him, she unwillingly decided to play along. "His name's Lord Plum, strange name, but he's a pretty powerful guy. Apparently he's trying to build an empire, and he want's the Power Stars to help him with that. As to why he would need me when he's got hundreds of followers is beyond me, but hey I needed the money, so I accepted his offer." She explained.

"Well you won't have to worry about that, because Lord Plum is dead." Trunks replied plainly.

Hearing that made the mercenary pause, and it took several moments before she could offer a response. "D-did you say he's... dead?" She received a knowing nod from him, and her fears were instantly confirmed. Shortly after her hands gripped the sides of her head in panic. "No no no no!"

He raised a curious brow as he watched her start panicking. As to why she was freaking out he had no idea... well, okay he had one. She did say that she would be getting payed for her service, but since there is no Lord Plum there would be no one to pay her. Although, since he was taking the Power Stars anyway it shouldn't have mattered.

A few seconds later Zara reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device, and after pressing a few buttons the entrance to her ship opened up. She then wasted no time in entering her vessel.

Not wanting to let her leave without giving up her Power Stars, the Super Saiyan followed after her. In a matter of seconds he was aboard, and it didn't take him long to find out where she had gone. He navigated through the ship, which seemed smaller on the outside. Thanks to his speed he moved around in no time at all, and soon enough he came to a supply room of sorts.

Zara was frantically searching for something, as evidenced by all of the boxes she was throwing around recklessly.

"Looking for something?"

She stopped what she was doing and turned to face him, and she was greeted by a smirk. In response she glared. "What are you still doing here? I said you can have the Power Stars, now leave me alone!"

"I was just curious as to what has you so nervous." He told her.

"That's none of your business!"

Trunks grunted lightly before coming to a realization. "Oh I get it, you must have really needed that money Plum was going to pay you." It only made sense, seeing as how shocked she was to hear of Plum's death.

Instead of shouting or arguing the mercenary simply sighed deeply. "...I may owe some people some money... okay a lot of money. I had to borrow quite a bit from one of my previous employers, and I haven't payed her back yet. She had sent some of her goons after me and I promised I'd pay her back, which is why I accepted to help Plum in the first place. But now he's dead, and I'll soon be joining him."

A few moments of silence followed before the Super Saiyan spoke up. "Alright here's the deal, I can help you get this person off of your back."

Another moment of pause ensued, but this time it was Zara. "What?" She wasn't sure if she heard him correctly, as it sounded like he wanted to help her. The mercenary had done nothing but be rude, and attack him, yet now he was offering to help?

"You heard me, I said I can help you."

"Why would you want to help me?"

For a moment the Super Saiyan questioned himself, as the more he thought about it the more it didn't make sense. He had every right to let her suffer the consequences of her own actions, but that just didn't seem fair. The half-Saiyan had been taught to help those in need, and to do the right thing. Obviously the circumstances were a little different, but he still felt the need to offer assistance.

Also, it made him wonder what Gohan would have done, and he probably would have helped her. Of course, there was no real way to know that, but he had a feeling his friend would do the right thing. "Because you obviously seem scared of these people you owe money to, and I wouldn't want you to face them alone."

She scowled upon hearing his comment, as she wasn't that scared of them... although having some back up would make her feel a bit better. It was then that another thought came to her mind. "And this has nothing to do with the Power Stars does it?"

"...Well you were able to locate several of them; I'm guessing with some piece of equipment." He noticed the slight smirk on her face, making him sigh. "Look I'm offering you my help, even though you fought me and probably hate me. You can tell how strong I am, and you know what I can do with all of this power. So what do you say?"

"...Fine... but don't get the wrong idea. This isn't some kind of permanent partnership. After we settle this I'm taking my ship and leaving, without you." She clarified, although she assumed that it went without saying.

"That works for me, although you're going to show me how you found the Power Stars before you leave."

"Alright whatever. Now let's hurry this up, I don't want to keep that bastard I owe money to waiting."

* * *

Flying as quickly as he could, Wario was on his way toward his ship. When he came back to the planet he merely wanted to crush his rival, and after that he would've gone back to base... but that was before his plans were ruined. He was right there, about to kill the Mario Brothers, when one of his fellow soldiers showed up. Not wanting to get into a fight, he took off at the first chance he could.

It shouldn't really have surprised him that someone came to the Mushroom Kingdom to find him, but it still kind of did. On the one hand he did leave without telling anyone, but he didn't think anyone would notice. After all he was just one man, out of several hundred people. The greedy man assumed he was a pretty low priority, but that unfortunately wasn't the case.

 _'I just have to make it to my ship...'_ As he was flying he briefly glanced behind himself, to see if he was being followed. He breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see anybody, but when he returned his focus forward he gasped and came to an abrupt stop.

Grape was floating several feet in front of Wario, smirking. "Leaving so soon?" His smirk soon became a frown. "First you ran all the way out here, without any permission, and now you're trying to escape from me."

"T-this was just a little d-detour. I was going to return to Lord Plum right after, honest." That wasn't a total lie, as the portly man hadn't planned on deserting his new leader... although the thought of simply staying in the Mushroom Kingdom had crossed his mind. In fact, that was looking to be a pretty promising option at this point.

"Save your excuses Wario, you and I both know that's a lie. Hmph, I still can't believe we let someone like you into our army. It was a mistake, one that I'll happily correct!"

Gasping loudly, the portly man moved out of the way of an energy blast. He didn't have time to relax though as another came right at him, forcing him to move yet again. Wario quickly found himself in a pattern of dodging oncoming attacks, but luckily he had been trained well enough to avoid them. That didn't mean he was an expert, but at the very least he could not get struck by one.

Laughing to himself, Grape continued to fire before deciding to go hand to hand. In an instant the purple-skinned alien was right in front of his opponent, and a hard punch to the gut made him double over in pain. Several more strikes followed, each hitting a different spot. He finished his little combo with an elbow to the nose, and then a kick to the chin.

Wario went flying back a bit but managed to stop himself, and not a moment later he ducked. Thanks to his quick thinking he avoided a fist that would have hit him square in the nose. Now underneath his opponent, the greedy man propelled himself upwards with all of his might. The top of his big head slammed into the gut of his foe, eliciting a painful yell from him.

Continuing to fly upward, the greedy man brought Grape for a ride. He stopped after a few moments, and then rammed into the alien using his shoulder. A chuckle escaped his mouth as he watched his foe go soaring in the opposite direction. "Maybe I'm-a stronger than I thought."

"Don't count on it."

Wario turned around and found himself getting kicked in the nose, causing blood to fly out of it. Before he could react he received another blow to the face, but this time it was a fist. More and more punches were thrown into his face, all of which were pretty painful. He tried to muster a defense, but it was proving to be difficult. And the fact that he was continuously getting punched in the face didn't help anything either.

One final strike to the nose sent his foe crashing into the ground, and all the while Grape was grinning to himself. A few seconds later he held out one of his palms, aiming it downward toward his fallen foe. Dozens of mini ki blasts shot out from his palm, impacting the ground with a loud boom. His barrage didn't stop, and kept on going for several more moments.

As soon as he was satisfied the alien ceased firing. His eyes then fell upon the huge shroud of dust and smoke, where he admired his handiwork. "Now let's see if he's still alive." Tapping the side of his Scouter revealed his opponent was still down there. "Well what do you know, Wario isn't dead. He's a bit tougher than I gave him credit for."

Shortly after Grape descended onto the ground, right in front of the recently made crater. There was still a good amount of smoke and dust, but that was quickly fading away. "Well Wario, now you know the price for-" He stopped mid sentence when an energy blast came flying at him, making him move to the side to avoid it.

Not a moment later Wario came barreling forward, and then threw a punch to the side of his foe's head. Instead of actually hitting the head his fist made contact with the Scouter, and upon impact it broke apart.

Grape stared at where his Scouter used to be, and all the while he was fuming. "Why you little-" In his anger he failed to notice the energy heading for his face. Reacting as quickly as he could, the purple-skinned alien bobbed his head to the side. Unfortunately he couldn't fully avoid the blast, and as such was hit square in his left eye.

"AAAAH!" He screamed as he brought a hand over his stinging eye. While the rest of his face was completely fine his eye was burned, and he was lucky the blast didn't penetrate his face, otherwise he would've been in a much worse situation. Still, the pain was excruciating, and unlike any other he had experienced prior. Not to mention his vision would suffer, although that was the least of his worries at the moment.

"Ugh, you sneaky bastard! I-" Grape paused when he noticed nobody around. It didn't take him long to figure out what the smarmy recruit had done. By destroying the scouter this left him unable to track Wario, and blinding him allowed the portly man to escape. Now his foe could be anywhere on the planet, anywhere.

Grumbling to himself, the alien clenched his right fist tight. A few seconds later he let loose a powerful shout, which was accompanied by an omni-directional burst of ki. His anger was rising, and he found himself hating that smarmy recruit even more than he already did. "When I find you Wario, I'm going to rip you apart!"

* * *

I'll end it off there. So Trunks met a mercenary named Zara who has some debts that need paying, and is going to help her sort that mess out. I felt like Trunks would offer to help, even if she attacked him, and it's not like he isn't getting anything out of the deal... besides, there's no telling how this little arrangement will go, or what will happen. Meanwhile Wario had an encounter with Grape and ran, but that doesn't mean he isn't still in danger. Also, I feel like the Power Stars would have at least a little bit of energy, and Trunks hadn't thought of doing that hence why he didn't pick up on it earlier. That's all for now, be sure to R&R and have a wonderful day!

FutureShock


	14. Repaying Debts

Chapter Fourteen: Repaying Debts

Trunks was lying down on a moderately comfortable bed, inside of Zara's ship. He wasn't just there to relax, he was mostly trying to keep a little distance between him and her... that, and he worried that something would happen to him if he were to sleep. They agreed to help one another, but that didn't mean they needed to constantly be around each other. He got the impression that's how she wanted it, and he didn't mind either. That also would explain the lack of communication so far, as there hadn't been much since take off.

It did give him time to think though, which was what he was currently doing. Here he was in someone else's ship, having agreed to help her deal with problems that she created for herself. His newest adventure certainly was strange, and placed him into some bizarre situations. This one was no different, in fact it might have been the strangest so far. The half-Saiyan never expected to be helping a mercenary, even if it was partially for his own benefit.

He knew nothing about her, aside from what she does, yet here he was on her ship. There was no telling what was going to happen, or if there even was a problem in the first place. It was weird that the moment he was going to get the Power Stars she freaked out, only for him to offer to help which distratced him from the Power Stars. Was it all just some sort of elabrate trap to kill him?

As much as the half-Saiyan wanted to believe it was true he had a strong feeling it wasn't. He clearly had more power than her, and unless she was planning on blowing up her ship he wasn't in much danger. Not just that but she had seemed genuinely concerned by the news about Plum. And the fact that she let him come along on the first place suggested this wasn't a rouse.

It must have just been his paranoid nature, having grown up in a very bleak world. Or maybe it was being related to Vegeta, a stubborn man not known for trusting others. That may have also been why he had been so forceful with her earlier, which was something his father would have done. While Trunks could be intimidating when he wanted to be he may have gone a little too far.

A small frown came to his face, as although he held resentment toward Zara the two were now allies. They clearly hadn't started off on the right foot, but if they were going to work together then they would need to clear the air a bit.

With a sigh the half-Saiyan got out of the bed, grabbed his sword which had been leaning against the wall next to the bed, and headed out of the room. Thanks to his senses he knew where she was, and began making his way toward her. Along the way he couldn't help but wonder how this second interaction would go, and for both their sakes he hoped it would go well.

Zara was standing inside of the main room of her ship, taking a moment to think. She had set the coordinates to where she her previous employer was, and with the ship flying itself she didn't need to constantly be at the controls. That gave her time to contemplate her next course of action. As much as she didn't want to admit it she was feeling nervous. While she may have been tough there were still things that she feared, and her previous employer was one of them. Just seeing that woman was bad enough, but now she had to return empty handed? It was just looking to be a big mess.

Zara then jumped lightly upon hearing a noise, but when she noticed it was just Trunks she sighed. "What do you want?"

"You seem jumpy." The half-Saiyan noted.

"I'm fine! What are you doing here anyway, I thought you'd gone to sleep?"

"I wasn't sleeping I was thinking."

"You too huh?" She asked in a surprisingly soft tone.

He blinked twice before nodding. A few more moments passed before he spoke up. "Look I actually came here to apologize for how I acted earlier, I'm not usually so forceful."

Zara stared at him curiously before bursting out into laughter, confusing him. She kept on laughing before calming down several moments later. "Sorry, it's just, are you seriously apologizing? I come across rude people all the time, and I've heard way worse things... but, no ones ever apologized for saying them, so th-thanks."

Trunks was equally surprised by too, and figured he would build on this progress. "Well I'm just trying to do the right thing. So what's on your mind; I'm guessing it has to do with your employer?"

Since he had attempted to clear the air the mercenary figured she would do the same. "Pretty much. She seems nice, but there's a monster hiding beneath her soft exterior. I've only heard rumors, but apparently those who come back empty handed are never seen again. I'm not sure if that's true, and frankly I don't want to know."

Another moment of silence passed as the half-Saiyan thought about what was just told to him. He had seen some monsters in his time, both literally and figuratively, and apparently he would soon be meeting another... that is, if what Zara said was actually true. "Well I'm sure she can't be as bad as you say."

"That's just what I heard, but there has to be some truth to it. I mean, you don't just become the leader of a crime syndicate for nothing." She pointed out.

"Fair point." He stated.

"At the very least there's two of us, so we might get lucky."

A frown came to his face. "You seem like you've already given up."

Zara scoffed. "I'm just being realistic. It would be foolish to expect an easy victory, especially since we're not entirely sure about our opponent. I'm not saying it's completely hopeless, but we have to be ready for anything."

"True but that doesn't mean you can't have any hope. No matter how bleak things get there's always a chance for it to get better." Again, he had been in situations like that before, and even when he almost lost hope he kept going.

In response to that the mercenary chuckled. "That was kind of lame... but I suppose there's some truth in there. I mean you're pretty powerful, so maybe that'll work in our favor." She obviously wasn't going to bank on it, but it would definitely help their situation.

Trunks smirked lightly. "Trust me I plan on giving it my all, and I wasn't even using my full power earlier."

Hearing that left Zara feeling a little surprised. Earlier she had been caught off guard by his power, and now she just learned there was more. Perhaps things weren't hopeless, and maybe they had a chance of winning after all. That is, only if what he was saying was true. It could have easily been a bluff, but she had a feeling he was telling the truth.

A small smirk then came to her face. "You know, maybe I should start looking on the bright side."

* * *

Flying through the air in a very sluggish manner, Wario was trying to make it back to his ship. He had just barely escaped his encounter with Grape, and was now on his way to get off of the planet. That wasn't easy though, as he had taken a good amount of damage during the fight. He was luckily still able to move, but he wasn't going as fast as he could have. That didn't really matter to him at the moment though, as his main priority was surviving.

His decision to seek revenge against the Mario Brothers hadn't worked out as well as he thought. Just when he was about to finish them he was interrupted by one of his fellow soldiers, which led to some problems for him. And now it was either escape or be killed, and the greedy man had no plans on dying today.

 _'Ugh, my body's killing me! Curse that Grape, if I were stronger I would show him!'_ Unfortunately that wasn't the case, so for now he would settle for getting even another day.

At a certain point he started slowly descending downward, a sure sign of his fatigue. Noticing some flatland down below, the greedy man set his sights on it. The landing was a little rough, and once he was on the ground he laid down. He now took some time to relax, to let his energy recharge.

As Wario was lying there he started thinking about his next move. Obviously he was trying to escape, but he wondered what should happen afterword. There were numerous planets out there, and any one of which would make a suitable hiding place. That seemed like a good solution, but was that really what he wanted? Spending the rest of his life running and hiding wasn't what the greedy man had in mind. Most of his life had been spent either collecting coins and other riches, or fighting with the Mario Brothers. That was all he really knew, and while he had just beaten the Mario Brothers he couldn't really enjoy his victory.

Despite currently being hunted Wario slowly began to realize how many new opportunities this presented. If he were to leave the planet he could go anywhere, do anything, and there would no one to stop him. Sure there might be some strong or tough people looking for a fight, but he was no pushover. Perhaps some more training would be in order, as a way to not only stay in shape but also help increase his chances of survival.

A huge grin came to Wario's face in response to the plan forming in his mind. He remained on the ground for a few more moments before finally getting up, as although he was still tired he needed to get off the planet ASAP. And once he was back on his feet he resumed his trip back to his ship.

* * *

Trunks was back in his temporary room, sitting on the floor in a meditative position. He wasn't really one to meditate, and the only times he had were with Gohan, but for some reason he felt like doing so. Maybe it was because of everything that has happened to him so far, or maybe because of what lied ahead, either way he needed to clear his mind and this was a good way of doing so.

According to Zara's latest update the two of them would be arriving shortly, which gave the half-Saiyan time to clear his head and think about the oncoming fight. It wasn't like he was nervous, well... maybe just a little. He was going into a fight with no knowledge on his opponent after all, and his 'ally's' description wasn't much to go on.

Yet at the same time he felt ready for whatever awaited him. He was part Saiyan, and the son of Vegeta. He had been in tough battles before, and had learned more and more from each of those fights. Not just that, but the half-Saiyan had quite a bit of power in him. Supposedly whoever awaited them was powerful, but could their power compare to that of a Super Saiyan's?

Only time would tell he supposed, and that was going to come soon enough. _'Maybe not soon enough.'_ Trunks was also getting a little antsy waiting. It must have been the Saiyan blood running through his veins, but he was also a little excited for the battle. There was no telling how it would go, or if he would win, but that was just the thrill of it as his father might say.

Suddenly Trunks felt a sensation, the one when a ship has touched down onto the ground. With a deep exhale the half-Saiyan stood up, and then made his way over to the main part of the ship. After several moments he saw Zara standing near the doorway.

Zara turned when she heard the footsteps, and she noticed how calm and ready he seemed. "You look ready."

"And you look nervous." He pointed out.

While she wasn't to the point of having a break down she was feeling slightly unnerved. In just a few short moments she would be returning to her employer, empty handed, and have to face her. Needless to say it was a scary thought, even after having her confidence boosted earlier.

She stood there for a few moments before responding. "Maybe I am."

"Relax, everything's going to be fine."

"I sure hope so." The mercenary noted.

Not a moment later there was a knock at the door, a rather loud one.

Zara flinched for a moment before turning to her companion. "Get out of sight!" She ordered before pressing a button and opening the door.

As soon as the entrance ramp was down two huge men walked onto the ship, both wearing matching light-blue uniforms. Their outfits consisted of black boots, light-blue pants, a light-blue shirt with shoulder pads attached, black gloves, and hats similar to what a general would wear.

"Madame Dusk has been waiting for you." One of the men stated in a gruff voice.

"And you know how she gets when she's impatient."

A few beads of sweat slowly trickled down the mercenary's face. "My apologies, I had to make a brief stop and-"

"No more excuses! Now you'd better have the money or el-" His sentence was cut short by a boot striking his gut, which instantly made him drop to the ground.

Before the other man could react he was struck in the back of the head, knocking him out.

Trunks glanced at each of them briefly before returning his attention to Zara, who was stunned silent at the moment. "You said you don't have the money, and we'd end up fighting them anyway."

She stood there for a few more moments before finally snapping out of her shock. "I could have taken care of those guys!" She huffed, hoping to regain some of her nerve.

A slight smirk came to his face. "Oh really, because to me it looked like you were sweating."

Ordinarily Zara would protest, but considering the circumstance she decided to drop it. Instead she merely grunted before throwing the two unconscious men out of her ship, and after that she exited as well.

The half-Saiyan followed after and as soon as he was off the ship he caught sight of where he was. He was standing on a purple-colored landing platform, which was floating high up off the ground. All around the area were floating objects, ranging from big blocks to trees. It was an odd sight, and made him wonder if this was Madame Dusk's doing or not.

In the distance was a big pyramid, which was also a shade of purple. "So this is where Madame Dusk is?"

"Yeah she's a bit of an oddball, but I would never say it to her face... but maybe I can say it now." She chuckled.

"Well then we shouldn't keep her waiting." Trunks said as he began approaching the structure.

Zara said nothing as she followed after.

As the two of them walked the half-Saiyan got a feel for what lied ahead. There weren't too many guards, and they were all around the same level of strength. That wasn't a problem, but there was something off... he couldn't sense anyone else. That either meant that Madame Dusk wasn't that strong, or that she couldn't be sensed. He wasn't sure which was the case, but he supposed he would find out soon enough.

After several more moments the duo reached the entrance, where they could see a very long hallway ahead of them. They paused for only a few seconds before continuing onward. It was pretty dimly lit, save for the torches of blue flame lining the walls. They kept on walking, all the while getting ready for a fight.

"Intruders!"

They both paused when they noticed several guards running toward them. Without saying a word they both dashed forward to intercept, and actually managed to catch the guards by surprise. Taking them down was easy, as they were all pretty weak by comparison.

Trunks spared a quick glance at them before hearing footsteps in the distance. It was weird though, because he couldn't sense anyone approaching. He and his companion then caught sight of someone.

It was a woman, a rather short one. Her skin was a bright shade of light purple, and she had short locks of blue hair. Her outfit consisted of orange shoes, short white pants, and a black sleeveless top. One of her eyes was light blue, while the other was blood red.

Zara froze up slightly at the sight of her.

"Zara... you've returned." Her voice was calm, almost soothing. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to pay me back, and judging by what you did to my guards I guess I was right." Her eyes then drifted over to the person next to the mercenary. "And who's this handsome gentlemen?"

"The name's Trunks, and you must be Madame Dusk."

Madame Dusk giggled lightly. "It would seem my reputation precedes me. Yes, I am the one, the only, the beautiful Madame Dusk." She proclaimed. "So tell me, why have the two of you attacked my guards?"

"B-because I'm not going to give you your money." The mercenary answered shakily.

There was a slight pause as Madame Dusk just slowly shook her head. "That's a very bad decision."

Before Zara could react her whole body seized up, and she instantly lost control. Terror overtook her as her limbs started moving of their own accord.

Trunks meanwhile was looking on in horror. "What are you doing to her?"

After a few moments the mercenary dropped to the floor, and she wasn't moving.

"Just a little power I possess, which can disable any opponent... so long as they aren't stronger than me. And you're probably wondering why I didn't do it to you. Well it's simple, I wanted to keep you around longer. You seem like a strong young man, and I want to have a good fight. Understand?"

"Yeah I get it, but don't think I'll be easy to beat." The half-Saiyan declared before shifting into his stance.

A smirk came to Dusk's face before she dashed forward. In the blink of an eye she threw a punch, which knocked her opponent backwards. She then quickly moved behind him and launched him skyward with nothing but the back of her hand. Several more hits followed, each one preformed at equally fast speeds.

Crashing through a wall, Trunks landed outside of the pyramid. His body was in slight pain, but it was nothing new to him, so he would manage. Just when he stood up though his opponent came crashing into him, nearly knocking the wind out of him in the process. He was taken for a ride through the ground, with his body tearing apart the stone and dirt around him.

Eventually Dusk grabbed her foe by the collar and then threw him toward the sky. She then pointed up at him, and then _removed_ that hand, revealing several small chambers. Seconds later dozens upon dozens of little pink spheres shot out of her now open arm, and they all stuck themselves to her enemy. A few moments after that they all exploded in a bright flash of light.

Another smirk came to her face, which was soon accompanied by a soft chuckle. "He seemed so strong, but a few basic attacks were enough to finish him."

"Oh I'm not finished yet."

She recoiled slightly upon seeing him floating several feet away from her, and aside from a few scratches he was fine. Despite being shocked that he was alive she voiced no complaints. "Well well, you're tougher than I gave you credit for. You're one of the first to withstand my attacks. Impressive."

"I could say the same about you. I wasn't really sure what to expect, aside from what Zara told me, but I could see why she would be worried. You're not human, you're a machine. You must have quite a lot of power, but so do I!"

Not a moment later a golden aura erupted from Trunks body, which completely engulfed him within its glow. His hair had spiked upwards, and was the same shade of gold. His eyes were now teal, and they were staring straight at the machine in front of him. Ordinarily he wouldn't have transformed so early on, but he figured he wouldn't waste any time.

A few seconds of silence passed as Madame Dusk stared at the now golden-haired warrior. "Interesting transformation. Yes, your power has increased dramatically. But it still won't be enough to-" Before she could react a fist hit her square in the nose, sending her flying in the opposite direction.

The Super Saiyan wasted no time in pursuing after, and it didn't take long at all to reach her. Placing himself behind her, he placed his legs together and at the right moment thrust them into her back. He then zoomed upwards while at the same time charging energy into his right hand. Again he waited for the right time, and once that came he slammed his ki-charged fist right into her.

With an explosive boom the mechanized-woman crashed into the ground. She laid there for a few moments before getting back up. Back on her feet she noticed her opponent standing across from her. "This could actually be fun."

Before the Super Saiyan could respond he had to quickly put up his guard, which saved him from getting kicked in the face. He then put up more blocks as his opponent was bombarding him with attacks. Luckily he was fast enough to defend himself, which may have been helped by the fact that his foe didn't seem to have much of a technique.

He continued blocking the rapid-fire attacks before eventually moving to counter. After knocking away one of her legs he moved forward, and rammed his fist into her stomach. That made her stop dead in her tracks, and gave him a chance to strike again. He then placed both hands to her chest, both of which began glowing with a golden light. Not a moment later a huge burst of ki exploded from his palms.

Madame Dusk was once again sent flying, and preformed several mid-air rotations before finally righting herself. A scowl came to her face as she took note of the damages her body suffered thus far. At this rate her body wouldn't last long, as despite being a robot she could only withstand so much.

"So, what do you think?" Trunks asked as he once again made himself level with his opponent.

"You may be in control for the moment, but the battle isn't over yet. I still have some tricks up my metaphorical sleeves." A smirk came to her face as her body started vibrating slightly. A few moments passed before she slowly started getting smaller, as in the size of her body decreased. That continued for several more seconds before it stopped.

The Super Saiyan noticed she was a little slimmer, but other than that there was no change. _'Hm I should still be careful.'_

 _'Let's see how he likes me now.'_ Without saying a word she dashed forward, but she reached her foe much quicker than before.

Trunks once again found himself on the end of an assault, and despite a few hits getting in he managed to get his guard up. It didn't take him long to realize what his opponent had done. By slimming down she made herself faster, a lot faster, and he knew what she was hoping to accomplish. Her speed increase wouldn't be enough to save her though, at least not if he had anything to say about it.

He continued blocking but was finding it harder as time went on. First it was just a few hits making it past his guard, but soon more and more made impact against him. It was just annoying at first, yet the more hits he took the more pain he felt. _'I thought for sure her power would have decreased as well.'_

Eventually Madame Dusk managed to land a pretty devastating kick to her opponent's face, which launched him high into the air. She then once again removed her hand and shot a barrage of blasts at him, all of which exploded upon contact. She then teleported herself above him, and with a chuckle she punched him as hard as she could in his spine.

With a painful scream Trunks crash landed into the ground, forming a huge crater with his body. He remained there for several moments before pushing himself to his feet. As soon as he was standing he did a quick stretch, in order to get some of the feeling back in his sore muscles.

As he was doing that he caught sight of the surface of the planet, which appeared to be nothing but a barren, purplish-colored, dried up wasteland. There was a strong breeze blowing, but that was about it. It seemed a little weird, but he figured that not all planets would contain life. Although that did raise the question of what brought Madame Dusk there in the first place.

Suddenly he started feeling a little strange. He was getting kind of hot, as if he were in some kind of furnace or something. His vision was getting a little blurry as well. He could certainly still see, but he could tell that it wasn't one hundred percent. This made him wonder if he had taken more damage during the fight than he thought.

"Aw what's the matter, not feeling so good?"

He glanced up and noticed his opponent slowly floating down toward him. A few deep breathes escaped his mouth as the half-Saiyan brought his guard up, and then shook his head to try and clear it out.

"As I'm sure you noticed this planet isn't very hospitable, and life can't be sustained. Any normal person would die after a few seconds. You're still alive though, but you aren't completely safe. You'll only get more worn down, making it harder to resist the deadly effects. I however don't have that problem, thanks to my cybernetic enhancements."

 _'That explains why I couldn't sense her.'_ Trunks had suspected she was a machine, but at the moment that was the least of his concerns. "I think you should be more worried. I've been in worse situations than this, and I've still got plenty of fight left in me."

A devilish grin came to Dusk's face before she resumed her attack. Like a lightning bolt she struck her foe, slamming her fist right into his face. Several more punches were thrown, all of which hit with devastating force. She then moved back slightly before raising her left leg high into the air, which slammed the front of her foot square into his jaw.

Trunks went soaring through the air before suddenly coming to a stop, and it wasn't by choice. He tried to move but found himself unable to. "W-what's happening?"

"I used my magic to contain you. After all, we wouldn't want you back in the safe zone now would we?" Dusk chuckled as she floated up to his level, revealing her glowing purple hand. She then closed her hand, which made the magical grasp she held on her opponent tighter.

The Super Saiyan cried in pain but was unable to do anything about it. He tried to break free, but there was no escape.

"Aw what's the matter, you can't move?" She giggled, only to receive grunts in response. "Well here, let me help you." With a flick of her wrist she pulled her enemy closer, and once close enough she rotated her body back about ninety degrees. This put both feet out in front of her, which soon made impact with her foe.

While the magical grasp was no longer on him Trunks was still unable to move, but this time it was due to pain. He had slammed full force into her robotic feet, and it felt like all of the air had been knocked out of him. It would only get worse when he was headbutted by his opponent, which sent him crashing into the ground at high speeds.

He laid within another crater, with pain coursing through his body. A few moments later he noticed his enemy coming straight down to him. Reacting quickly he freed himself from the ground before doing several back-flips, which saved him from getting buried deeper into the rocks.

After one final flip the Super Saiyan was back on his feet, and not a moment later he unleashed a ki blast. His attack hit with explosive power, which sent dust and rock flying everywhere. His aura then ignited as he fired off more and more. That continued for several moments before he slowly came to a stop. Firing off all of those blasts had left him feeling tired, and the conditions on the planet weren't helping much either. He was far from finished, but if he wasn't careful he could wear himself down too quickly, which could end badly for him.

Suddenly he was hit in the back of the head, making him stumble forward. He turned around, and just in time to duck underneath a kick. He then countered with a kick of his own, which hit his enemy right in the ribs... assuming she had any that is. Either way it sent her flying across the horizon.

His aura flared as he flew after her. It didn't take long to reach her, and as soon as he did he bent his body back and kicked hard with both feet. His attack propelled her upwards, but the half-Saiyan wasn't finished yet. He quickly ascended higher into the air, and stopped several feet above his opponent. He then cupped his hands together and raised them high over his head, and at the right moment he brought them down with all his might.

Dusk went crashing into the ground at an incredibly fast speed, and she was sure she was now lying in a crater. Sparks flew out of the top of her head as she forced herself up. _'That last hit must have really done some damage, but the rest of my body is in good shape, so I shouldn't worry.'_ Right as she finished her thought she leapt out of the crater, nearly avoiding an energy blast.

Trunks fired a few more blasts, but each one was avoided. He unleashed a few more before simply charging her. Their fists collided with a loud boom, which emitted a big shockwave. He then began punching with everything he had, and his opponent was doing the same. Despite how fast he was attacking he couldn't get an advantage, but luckily neither could his foe.

After several more moments Madame Dusk started flying backwards, trying to put some distance between the two of them. As she was going in reverse she raised both hands, which soon started glowing with a yellow light.

It didn't take the Super Saiyan long to realize what was about to happen, but by the time he did it was too later. In an instant there was a bright flash of light, and his unprotected eyes took it in full force. He paused mid-flight and brought his hands to his now burning eyes. Everything was dark, and his eyes didn't want to open.

"You're so easy to fool." She mocked before rushing him. Taking advantage of her opponent's lack of sight she began attacking him, and there was nothing he could do to defend himself. A playful laugh escaped her lips as she continued to wail on him. Multiple strikes later she grabbed him by the leg, did several super fast spins, and then released her grip.

Still unable to see, Trunks had tried to stop his unexpected flight. That came in the form of a kick that hit him in the side of the head, which sent him through a nearby cliff. He then felt a sharp pain in his back, and then a moment later was hit hard in the gut. Blood and spittle flew out of his mouth, which most likely landed on his opponent.

Dusk took a moment to wipe off the side of her face before smacking him with the back of her hand, the one she used to wipe her face. A satisfied grin crept onto her face as she watched her enemy slam into the ground. "Serves him right, nobody spits on Madame Dusk."

Several seconds went by before the Super Saiyan felt his vision returning to him. He could finally start to open his eyes, and although everything was very blurry it was a good start. As more time passed he could see better, and he noticed his opponent floating high above him with some kind of energy orb resting in one of her open palms.

"This has been fun, but I'd rather not waste anymore time. Sure I'm in control now, but who knows how the rest of the battle would have gone? So I think I'll quit while I'm ahead. You were a worthy foe Trunks, but no match for Madame D-" A surprise kick to the face sent her soaring across the horizon.

The downed warrior noticed Zara floating where Dusk had just been. She remained there before flying down to him.

"You're still alive?"

"She didn't kill me, she just knocked me out temporarily. I honestly thought I would have been out longer, and you should be lucky I wasn't."

A weak chuckle escaped his mouth. "Yeah she was about to finish me." He noted as he freed himself from the ground.

"I'll bet you could have survived that." She smirked.

"Maybe, but I'm glad we don't have to find out."

A light pink beam then zoomed down toward the two of them, but only managed to make them jump back a bit. "You're more resilient than I gave you credit for Zara, then again I should know because I'm the one who hired you."

Zara coughed before smirking again. "You should know I would have payed you back, but my previous job fell through. You know how it goes when you're a hired contractor."

"A pity our partnership has ended, but I hope you know the penalty for quitting is death." Dusk then unleashed another beam.

The mercenary jumped out of the way and retaliated with one of her own. Her attack was shrugged off, but that wouldn't stop her. She fired off about a dozen more but had to take a moment to rest. And now that she thought about it, it was pretty hot down on the surface. It was a little hard to breath as well.

Not a moment later Dusk came charging forward, only to be punched in the face by her original opponent. She turned to face him and was greeted by another punch in the same spot, and then another. Her face would get a break when her foe rammed into her chest with his shoulder.

Trunks then gave a quick series of rapid-fire fists to her face, before cupping his hands together and slamming them down on top of her head. He watched her descent toward the ground briefly before placing his hands out in front of him. A huge ball of golden energy rapidly formed before he unleashed it.

His attack struck the robotic woman with a loud bang, shrouding her body in a thick cloud of dust and smoke. He then noticed Zara floating next to him, and without saying a word the two started firing off more energy blasts. It might not be enough to completely finish her off, but doing any kind of damage was better than nothing.

A few seconds later Madame Dusk came flying out of the smoke cloud, and headed straight for the mercenary. Her elbow slammed into Zara's face, knocking her away. She then turned her attention to her original opponent, who was currently heading for her. Crossing her arms protected her from an oncoming punch, and after dropping her guard she retaliated with a punch of her own.

He grabbed her fist and then rammed his knee into her jaw. He then released his grip before delivering several hard strikes to her mid-section. His combo ended with an elbow to the stomach, and then hard left hook to the cheek. As his foe staggered backwards he dashed forward and gave her another hard strike, but she went a lot further back this time.

Trunks then preformed several fast hand motions before his open palms rested out in front of him. "Burning Attack!" A huge orb of golden-orange energy flew across the sky and hit his opponent directly, creating yet another massive explosion. As he watched the shroud form he noticed his foe falling from the sky.

Madame Dusk fell limply onto the ground, having not been going fast enough to crash. She remained there for several moments before getting back up. Sparks flew out of her body, a sign of damage. There were some holes in her body, and her systems weren't running as they should have. _'This isn't good, I'm taking too much damage.'_

Suddenly Trunks came flying in, and caught his enemy off guard. He started pummeling her with punches and kicks, with each having more power than the last. His attacks were strong enough to form cracks in her body, and one solid kick even broke through. A hard uppercut sent her flying back, and he watched her fall flat on the hard ground.

This time it was harder for her to get back up.

"I can tell you're getting weaker." He noted as he continued watching her trying to get up. "This planet may be affecting my body, but not nearly as much as you thought. I've been through hell, and there's no way I would give up. So I think I'll take a page out of your book."

Even as her opponent was building up energy meant to finish her she couldn't help but chuckle. "I never thought it would end like this, but in a way I'm glad it did. To be eliminated by such a powerful man... yes, a fitting end for the one and only Madame Du-" Her sentence was cut short by her entire body being engulfed by a huge wave of energy.

After several moments Trunks ceased firing, and saw nothing left of Madame Dusk. Sure he could have kept the fight going, but there wasn't much of a point. He was the superior fighter, and even with her magical powers he still held the advantage. The fight had been won without him using his full power.

With a sigh he reverted back to his normal form, and just a couple of seconds later he dropped to his knees. Deep breathes escaped his mouth as his weariness from the battle, as well as the harsh envinroment, caught up with him. After a little bit he was back on his feet, and he instantly went over to his partner.

Zara was lying on the ground, taking a moment to rest. Maybe she had taken more damage than she thought, or maybe the conditions of the planet were really bad, either way she felt exhausted and needed to relax.

"You can get up now."

She craned her head to find Trunks, who was back to having long hair, staring down at her. "Madame Dusk is dead?"

"Yeah I finished her, we won't be seeing her ever again." He stated matter-of-factly.

"That's a relief." Zara joked as she got up, only to see a gloved hand in front of her. She grabbed hold of it and was promptly hoisted up. "Well I suppose I should thank you, for saving me from her wraith."

"She needed to be stopped... but I'm glad I could help." Trunks smiled.

She smiled in turn. "...We should probably get out of here before we die."

* * *

Alright that's the end. I'm really sorry the wait for this chapter was so long, but life was getting in the way. Trunks and Zara took on Madame Dusk and won, and meanwhile Wario was planning out his new life. I didn't intend for Trunks to come off so harsh in the previous chapter, which is why he felt guilty in this one. That's all for now, so be sure to R&R and have a wonderful day!

FutureShock


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